Can a Leadership and Management Course Fix The Middle Management Crisis?

Why Middle Managers Are Struggling—and How a Leadership and Management Course Can Help

 

Table of Contents

• The Middle Management Crisis
• Understanding the Root Cause
• Redefining Success for Managers
• Creating a Coaching Culture
• Investing in a Leadership and Management Course
• Recognise & Reward Leadership
• Providing Ongoing Support
• Conclusion

Is There a Middle Management Crisis?

Without proper training and development, many middle managers struggle to balance the demands of leadership with the pressures of day-to-day operations. This is where a leadership and management course can make a significant difference, equipping managers with the skills and confidence to succeed.

A 2022 McKinsey Global Survey found that only 20% of managers strongly agreed that their organisations help them succeed as people managers.

Even more concerning, a separate study revealed that 70% of middle managers would prefer to step down to an individual contributor role if they could retain their current pay.

If managers don’t feel qualified or supported, it’s no wonder they’d rather opt out.

But this is more than just an individual problem—it’s a leadership challenge that can have a ripple effect across the organisation, impacting morale, performance, and retention.

So, what can HR and L&D leaders do to reverse this trend and create an environment where managers thrive?

Here’s where to start:

#1 Understand the Root Cause

Before investing in an off-the-shelf leadership and management course, it’s crucial to diagnose the real reasons middle managers are struggling.

Is it a lack of training, unclear expectations, or a deeper cultural issue?

The Vital Role of Middle Managers

Middle managers are the glue holding organisations together, facing pressure from all directions—senior leadership, direct reports, and external stakeholders.

In recent years, their burden has only increased. Flatter structures, tighter budgets, and fewer resources mean they’re expected to deliver more with less.

They have become the organisational equivalent of duct tape.

In the same way that ubiquitous tape can be used to ‘fix just about anything’, middle managers are used as a catch-all problem-solving resource.

They are tasked with resolving operational inefficiencies, addressing employee concerns, implementing strategic changes, and ensuring that senior leadership’s vision translates into tangible results.

However, without adequate support or resources, they often feel like they are firefighting rather than leading.

The Unintended Consequences

Many leadership teams would be shocked to hear that 70% of their middle managers would prefer to step down to the individual contributor role if they could keep the same pay.

What’s even more surprising is the fact that they themselves may be unintentionally responsible for this reluctance to manage.

By using middle managers as the organisation’s ‘human duct tape’,  they’re forced to step into individual contributor roles— firefighting issues that should have been addressed at a strategic level.

Meanwhile, they’re still expected to coach and develop their teams.

The consequence is a vicious cycle — burnout, disengagement, and a lack of motivation among middle managers.

If they feel like their work is not recognised, or they are constantly pulled in conflicting directions, their effectiveness diminishes, impacting the entire organisation.

Involving Managers in the Solution

There are many approaches HR and L&D leaders can take to understand the root cause of the problem. These include:

• Conducting anonymous surveys and focus groups  (with caution, as managers may hesitate to speak openly).
• Forming working groups of current managers to co-design solutions.
• Using qualitative and quantitative data to gain insight into the unique pressures middle managers face in your organisation.

Involving managers in shaping their own development fosters a greater sense of ownership and engagement.

While this might seem an obvious approach, for some organisations, it represents a fundamental shift in how leadership development is traditionally delivered.

#2. Redefine Success for Managers

For many, management feels overwhelming or misaligned with their strengths.

One way to tackle this is by redefining success – helping managers focus on what truly matters: supporting their teams, driving results, and fostering a positive culture.

The challenge is that in most organisations, only two of the three points above tend to be measured or used in annual appraisals of leaders.

A manager’s effectiveness is often gauged solely against the results they deliver.

That is not necessarily wrong, but it does put their focus on ‘the doing’ and drags them back into the Individual contributor role.

The Leadership Equaliser

The Leadership Equaliser Model helps reframe management roles into three components:

– Doing Things

– Managing Things

– Leading People

Most managers default to doing because task completion is tangible and measurable, whereas leadership and management are ongoing and often overlooked in performance reviews.

As a result, they fall into the trap of ‘managing-when-they have-time’, and that time rarely comes.

To shift this mindset, organisations must help managers prioritise:

Leading → Managing → Doing (rather than the reverse).

Managers should be equipped with frameworks that help them balance these aspects effectively. These tools should ensure that managers can delegate tasks, focus on supporting their teams, and foster a productive culture.

Leadership and management development programmes that emphasise self-awareness, resilience, and emotional intelligence can help middle managers feel more in control of their roles.

 

#3. Create a Coaching Culture

Managers often feel unsupported because they’re left to figure things out by themselves.

Building a coaching culture can change that.

 

The Value of Coaching

Encouraging senior leaders to act as coaches creates a valuable support system and provides real-time insights into managerial challenges.

Equipping managers with coaching skills also promotes continuous development at all levels.

Leader as Coach page of my website

A report from the Centre for Creative Leadership found that even minimal coaching support yielded significant results.

In one organisation, 500 managers spent just two hours with a coach over three months, preparing for key meetings, navigating challenges, and improving decision-making.

A follow-up survey estimated these coaching conversations delivered an equivalent value of €3 million, based on improved decision-making, time saved, and conflicts resolved.

A structured coaching approach also enhances psychological safety, helping managers feel more confident in their leadership abilities and better equipped to handle challenges.

 

#4 Invest in a Leadership and Management Course

Many managers feel unqualified simply because they’ve never been given the tools to succeed.

A study conducted by the Chartered Management Institute found that 82% of managers step into the role without any formal training.

Leadership and management are skills that need to be developed.

Yes, some individuals have a natural affinity towards leadership – the ‘born leaders’ – but few are ‘born managers’.

Providing targeted leadership development programmes that focus on practical skills like coaching, delegation, conflict resolution, and performance management can significantly improve confidence and competence.

A structured leadership programme creates confident, capable managers who can lead high-performing teams.

 

#5 Recognise and Reward Leadership

If managers don’t feel valued, they’re less likely to stay motivated.

Back in 1982, Ken Blanchard introduced a simple but underutilised idea in his book, The One Minute Manager.

“Catch people doing things right.”

Recognising middle managers not just for hitting targets but for developing their teams reinforces positive leadership behaviours.

Acknowledging the challenges they face and rewarding their leadership efforts can help shift the perception of middle management from a high-pressure role to an empowering career step.

 

#6 Provide Ongoing Support

Leadership can be lonely, especially in middle management.

A leadership and management course that includes coaching, networking, and tools like Ben AI bridges the gap between theory and real-world application.

The 2023 Deloitte Global Human Trends Report found that organisations with structured leadership development saw a 25% reduction in turnover — a powerful argument for investing in middle managers and not merely seeing them as (disposable) organisational ‘duct-tape.’

 

Conclusion: Investing in Middle Managers is Investing in Your Business

Middle managers are the bridge between strategy and execution, culture and performance.

Yet, too often, they are left to navigate the complexities of leadership without the right training or support. This results in burnout, disengagement, and ultimately, underperformance—not just for the individual manager but for the entire organisation.

The solution isn’t to pile on more responsibility or expect managers to figure it out alone. Instead, organisations must take a proactive approach: redefine what success looks like for managers, build a coaching culture, provide ongoing support, and—most importantly—invest in structured leadership development.

A leadership and management course isn’t just about skill-building. It’s about equipping managers with the confidence, mindset, and frameworks to lead effectively in a demanding environment. By making leadership training a priority, businesses can foster engaged, high-performing managers who, in turn, develop thriving teams.

If your organisation is ready to move beyond the ‘duct-tape’ approach and create a leadership culture that truly works, let’s start the conversation.

Investing in middle managers isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s a strategic move that drives long-term success.

Book a call today.