middle management

Most companies struggle with middle management because they are quick to promote but slow to train. Serving as the intermediary between executives and their direct reports, middle management bears the weight of demands from both sides. In this unique position, many managers struggle with role alignment, work-life balance, and effectively connecting with their teams. Upper-level leadership goals are communicated to managers with little direction on how to attain that particular result. Managers seem to be given an end destination without a map of how to get there, leaving most feeling misplaced. Learning how to face this unique set of challenges is a daunting task yet, critical for both personal and organizational growth.  

Once promoted, every individual is faced with a particular set of challenges. Commonly, these challenges include communication changes, leadership difficulties, role ambiguity, and trouble managing a practical work-life balance. Receiving feedback from both upper management and direct reports can help new managers get acquainted with their roles. However, receiving this feedback on an annual or semi-annual basis is not frequent enough to show growth. To help managers become better acquainted in their role, consider utilizing AIM insights. AIM Insights is a tool that works to provide accessible, quantitative feedback metrics to managers and provide better organization-wide alignment resulting in an improvement of overall productivity. 

Managers commonly face problems with a lack of control and alignment. Executives create organizational goals and managers are left to carry them out with insufficient guidance on the direction of the company goal. Managers are left to execute the goals set by executive management even if they find them impractical, unattainable, or struggle to understand the purpose. AIM insights displays a variety of tools to help leadership within an organization communicate and achieve or even exceed goals with improved transparency and alignment that improves satisfaction and productivity while reducing turnover.

Beginning with communication, AIM insights works to help middle managers streamline communication with direct reports and improve communication with executives to better understand organization goals. Creating personalized communication plans that lead to a better connection between managers and their direct reports. AIM insights works with managers and executives to promote constructive feedback and drive continuous improvement, allowing teams to reach their full potential. 

Additionally, AIM insights works to create plans that improve transparency and accountability with managers and direct reports. This software will enable managers to be more transparent about big picture and long-term goals with direct reports that will in turn be more accountable and more loyal to their organization. Being able to employ year-round performance metrics will enable managers to address problems as they arise and quickly analyze their team to work in a more efficient and productive manner. The accessibility of this important quantitative information allows managers and even executives to be more adaptable and agile in strategy, smoothly addressing issues and pivoting to avoid problems along the way. 

Data-driven goal setting allows employees to set SMART goals that are certainly attainable and timely, with the help of their managers. These goals allow managers to better identify problems and leaders within their team, frequently eliminating bias that may occur in evaluations. Being able to align each employee's goals with the organization will quickly exhibit strengths and differentiate firms from their competitors. Having clearer purpose and transparency improves productivity, leading to higher goal achievement and increased employee satisfaction, leading to higher retention rates organization-wide.  

Another important point of AIM insights is the development of feedback. Generally, once promoted, managers may go a few months without receiving direct feedback on their job performance. AIM insights enables managers to view goals and feedback constantly, having access to goals and utilizing specific metrics that clearly demonstrate different aspects of the organization and directly align performance areas with leaders’ goals. Being able to use these concrete metrics provides clarity and encourages managers to hold themselves and their direct reports accountable for reaching their own goals. 

Job satisfaction and job performance are directly linked. So to improve job satisfaction, managers should feel fully equipped with the tools to have high performance. This will reduce turnover and boost the efficient use of company resources. In addition to these benefits that would specifically aid managers, improved job performance and job satisfaction is crucial for direct reports as well. Having managers who are strong leaders, know how to communicate well, and genuinely enjoy their jobs will lead to the same traits in their direct reports. Having AIM Insights to provide clarity on these individuals will allow for streamlined objectives and goal-setting, making it easier for both managers and their direct reports to enjoy their workdays and be as productive as possible while maintaining their team. 

AIM Insights is just one aspect from a catalog of different tools to improve the experience of middle management. In addition to AIM insights, consider implementing mentorship programs that help managers better understand what personal steps they may take to better their careers and goals. Furthermore, managers should focus on not only being mentees but also becoming a mentor for their direct reports. Mentorship within an organization should focus on giving back so each person can have a mentor and a mentee to learn from and give advice to. This will help develop camaraderie within the organization and focus on open communication that will benefit all employees. 

To help mitigate burnout and exhaustion in managers, consider the use of software like AIM Insights to create transparent and instant tools to aid in the achievement of organization-wide goals. AIM Insights works to provide long-term solutions to organization-wide problems, once beginning your use of AIM Insights, managers are trained and on-boarded with continual resources and tools on employing this interactive feedback tool. It is impossible to grow without feedback and, challenging to show growth from feedback with infrequent reviews or evaluations. Focus on effective feedback that helps professionals at every level grow into stronger leaders, teammates, and employees. 

Mid-year evaluations are critical for maintaining motivation, addressing concerns, and setting goals for a successful performance during the year's second half. During these evaluations, Managers and employees can openly discuss past performance, current focuses, and future expectations to ensure continuous improvement and engagement. Through effective and meaningful performance reviews, managers can align team goals with organizational objectives to set their team up for success during the year's second half. 

When preparing for mid-year reviews, recognizing the importance of evaluations and their critical functions can greatly increase effectiveness and efficiency. Establishing meetings with each team member to provide feedback allows for increased communication and problem-solving abilities. While performance metrics may be utilized to gather information on each individual's performance throughout the year, underlying factors may be impacting the success of some team members. Creating this opportunity to communicate with them can identify challenges and allow for discussion on possible solutions. 

Along with facilitating communication, mid-year reviews serve as a means for goal adjustments. While establishing goals at the beginning of the year can be effective, team members must reflect upon their goals throughout the year and make adjustments accordingly. Factors impacting a goal may have developed throughout the year resulting in the completion of goals or potential setbacks. These new factors are important to incorporate into mid-year reviews to establish attainable goals for the second half of the year.  

One of the most crucial benefits of conducting effective mid-year reviews is maintaining motivation and engagement for team members. During the year, team members can lose motivation and struggle to recognize the purpose of their work. By allowing for one-on-one conversations that focus on supporting each individual, managers can collaborate with team members to develop solutions to re-engage their team. 

Proper preparation for mid-year reviews is indicative of the effectiveness of mid-year reviews. Throughout the year, managers should keep track of the performance of their team members to incorporate within their reviews. Performance software can be utilized to gather data on individual team members to track progress and drive goal-setting. In addition to manager preparation, it is important to encourage team members to prepare for their performance reviews. Encouraging self-reflection on employee performance for the first half of the year will allow them to come prepared for the meeting and highlight success potentially overlooked by management. Reflection can also identify areas for improvement, helping team members to make adjustments to their personal goals. 

2. Open Communication 

To ensure effectiveness for mid-year reviews, managers should encourage open dialogue during the meeting. Identifying open-ended questions that allow team members the opportunity to share their insights can drive meaningful discussions on team productivity. Creating an open and honest environment will encourage team members to provide authentic feedback and areas for improvement benefiting the team as a whole. Ultimately, the goal of establishing open communication is to demonstrate support for team members and continue to motivate their continued growth. 

3. Constructive Feedback 

A key element of conducting effective mid-year evaluations is to deliver constructive feedback to each individual. Collecting specific behaviors to improve upon and highlighting specific achievements are beneficial to creating individualized performance reviews. Emphasizing specific occurrences rather than generalizations is important because it allows the feedback to be more understandable and easier to implement solutions for within the remainder of the year. 

4. Goal Setting 

Establishing metrics and means for team members to develop goals creates motivations for team improvement. When conducting goal setting, establishing specific performance criteria develops a more structured means for team members to gauge their performance throughout the year. Collaborate with each team member to ensure that the goals created best reflect the objectives of the team and each individual. 

5. Action Steps and Follow-ups

Conducting mid-year reviews are incomplete if they lack further actionable steps and methods for goal applications. Identifying development opportunities for team members to have a curated improvement plan can serve as an effective means for learning and growth. Within development plans, incorporating a timeline for following up on the implementation of development plans will encourage accountability and maintain motivation. 

An important aspect of mid-year reviews is recognizing achievements and rewarding team members accordingly. While it may seem motivating to distribute bonuses to all team members on a semiannual or annual basis, direct reports with exceptional performance may lose motivation due to a lack of incentive. Developing a structure to motivate team members and recognize achievements is a primary purpose of effective bonus structures. 

In addition to considering who receives bonuses, an important consideration is who will determine bonuses. Upper management or middle management may be tasked with determining which team members receive bonuses based on their annual or semiannual performance. Both approaches have benefits and drawbacks to consider when implementing. 

A balance of both approaches can be utilized to mitigate the weaknesses of each approach while leveraging the strengths of both. This can be achieved through collaboration between middle managers and upper management to develop a comprehensive approach to bonus determination. Since middle managers have more direct interactions with team members, they can convey insights to upper management on team member performance beyond the statistics. Using a balanced approach, upper management can monitor for potential middle manager bias, ensuring a fair bonus recipient structure. 

Mid-year performance reviews are a powerful tool for ensuring motivation, goal progression, and continued development. Through proper preparation, honest communication, relaying feedback, setting goals, and establishing actionable plans, managers can maximize the effectiveness of individual reviews. Along with ensuring review effectiveness, providing incentives for high-performing team members encourages motivation throughout the year. Considering approaches for establishing objective and accurate allocation of bonuses is critical. 

As the year approaches the halfway mark, managers must consider strategies to ensure their teams are on track to meet their yearly goals. Mid-year reviews are a crucial tool to motivate employees to continue to excel towards their goals or to redirect employees struggling to perform, ultimately serving as a support system for all team members to reach organizational goals. 

Organizational change is often met with resistance, especially when middle managers aren’t involved in the decision-making process. When significant changes to corporate structure, strategies, or processes are implemented, it can create uncertainty and confusion throughout the firm. As well positioned between executives and employees, middle managers serve as key implementors of these new changes to ensure ease of transition. However, with this responsibility of implementing changes, middle managers can be the most resistant to change as they are also responsible for protecting their team. It is important to communicate effectively with middle management and include them in the process to secure middle management buy-in for these new initiatives. 

It’s natural for middle managers to be resistant to change due to the perceived loss of control and fear of the unknown that arises when large organizational changes occur. Middle managers may worry about adjusting to increased workloads, reporting structures, or new systems. Additionally, there may be concerns about loss of influence from potential positional restructuring. Large changes not only impact middle management but also the teams they oversee adding a layer of concern and reluctance to change. Proactively addressing middle management concerns is crucial in initiating widespread change. 

A key component of generating middle management buy-in when initiating change is through sharing a common vision for the firm. Communicating the new initiatives as a crucial step toward achieving a firm goal can help increase motivation and acceptance. Allowing opportunities for middle management to share their perspectives of firm visions can reduce their reluctance to change as well. Considering where they see the firm progressing and actively incorporating it within these new changes can show the firm values their insights. 

Communicating with middle management to share the vision and steps to initiate change is vital. Transparent and timely communication with middle management can mitigate confusion and continue to empower managers to see the vision. Specifically tailoring communication to middle management to address their questions and concerns will help them be more enthusiastic when implementing these new initiatives. 

2. Empower Middle Management Involvement

Since middle managers play a key role in implementing change throughout the organization, empowering them to get involved in the transition process can increase buy-in. Encouraging middle managers to be part of the decision-making process where possible allows the initiatives to be more tailored to the needs of managers and employees. 

Allowing middle managers to have autonomy on how to implement new changes within their teams can increase their sense of ownership and commitment to the new changes. While increasing middle managers the freedom to implement changes as appropriate for their teams, proper support should be provided for middle managers. Leadership development programs, workshops, mentorship programs, or specific support resources for their team are all great ways to ensure middle managers are prepared to oversee changes. 

3. Feedback Mechanisms 

Establish means for middle managers to share feedback and experiences throughout the process. Seamless two-way communication channels are effective ways to make sure middle managers feel recognized and timely adjustments can be made in response to their concerns. Ensuring someone is responsible for receiving feedback, communicating it with executive leadership, and responding to middle managers is a crucial role in encouraging effective feedback communication. 

While feedback mechanisms help to incorporate middle managers in the change process, there must also be a willingness to make adjustments and consider the feedback. If executives simply have feedback mechanisms to recognize issues but don’t make tangible changes, this can continue to frustrate middle managers and be counterproductive. 

4. Future Steps

Communicating a plan with clear future steps to middle management decreases confusion and increases the ability for them to implement changes consistent with the firm's vision. After a shared vision has been established, inclusion and feedback of middle managers are implemented, ensuring all parties are on the same page going forward will allow for successful implementation. 

Along with these clearly articulated future steps, ensure flexibility within the implementation so middle managers can utilize their best judgment and creative license. Recognize that everything may not go according to plan and be prepared to make adjustments along the way. Maintain momentum to achieve future steps through celebrating short-term goals. Recognizing and tracking progress towards short-term and long-term goals can create excitement for the new initiatives and keep employees engaged. 

Disseminating high-level organizational changes and securing middle management buy-in is crucial for successful implementation. By developing a shared vision, empowering middle managers to get involved, implementing feedback mechanisms, and incorporating a plan for future steps, organizations can reduce resistance to change. Middle managers connect senior leadership and employees, so ensuring their buy-in is pivotal in achieving successful change implementation and long-term success. Within an organization, all employees are united around shared values and goals for organizational prosperity. Ensuring middle managers are engaged and on board with new initiatives is how senior management can effectively implement organizational change. 

Throughout the initial half of 2025, there have been widespread reductions of middle management roles, drastically shifting the structures of corporations. Various sectors are implementing flatter organizational structures to promote efficiency and cost reductions. This shift, sometimes referred to as the “Great Flattening”, leaves middle managers in a challenging position, whether to remain with their current employer and adapt to the structural changes or seek new opportunities. 

When a company initiates large-scale structural changes to reduce management positions, it can be difficult to understand what the implications are for current roles. With this increased uncertainty and changes in workloads, managers must reflect on whether it’s strategic for their career progression to remain with their current organization and work to adjust to the role they end up in after the structural shift, or if they should explore other opportunities. 

When undergoing structural changes, the responsibilities of management roles may be condensed into one position. While this allows a more straightforward chain of management, it simultaneously increases the workload of the manager who remains. This manager is now tasked with a heavier workload than they originally signed up for, and often does not receive additional wages to compensate for it. Stuck in a situation such as this one, staying with one's current employer presents many positives and drawbacks. 

A benefit of sticking out the position during these organizational changes is familiarity with the company culture. While the company is making changes, having an understanding of the workplace environment is a unique benefit of staying. It can take a while to adapt to a new environment and immerse oneself in the culture of a new organization. 

Additionally, taking on increased responsibility from other roles demonstrates adaptability and strong leadership. Displaying such skills can highlight capabilities, potentially leading to promotions later on. If upper management recognizes these leadership skills, staying and adapting to the new corporate structure can lead to impactful career growth. 

While the benefits associated with remaining in the organization are certainly appealing, the reduction in other middle management positions will leave gaps within the organization. These gaps will result in the remaining managers being left to fill the gaps. Managers might be expected to learn new skills, assume more direct reports, and lead unfamiliar initiatives. Furthermore, these shifts in roles can lead to unclear expectations, making daily workloads to become more challenging. Ultimately, this uncertainty may cause burnout and increased stress. 

Given that the organization has already undergone structural changes, it’s possible that changes may persist in the near future. The organization is still adapting, which may lead to more roles being removed or replaced. It’s important to consider role security as well as career progression. With fewer management roles available within the organization, be realistic when considering the future pay for promotion. 

Given the organizational changes, prioritize becoming indispensable to the organization. While the changes may already be in effect, that doesn’t necessarily mean more changes won’t occur in the future. Using this time as an opportunity to demonstrate strengths to upper management can build a strong foundation for career advancement later on. 

A strong capability of a good leader is embracing cross-functional teams. With fewer managers in the organization, it is critical to leverage cross-functional teams to fulfill objectives. Cross-functional teams encourage collaboration throughout the organization, which can increase morale as well as create more efficient operations. Drawing on the departmental expertise can promote better solutions since certain areas are now lacking expertise from managers.

Another strategy to demonstrate value to upper management is through developing specialized expertise. Leaning into new responsibilities and gaining important insights about specific organizational practices or initiatives can truly set someone apart. Being able to not only take on new roles but thrive in doing so demonstrates strong adaptability and willingness to learn. 

To gain insights on direct reports and continue to develop leadership skills, utilize performance management tools. Not only will such tools support management duties, but they will also help create solutions to better manage teams and improve leaders’ performance. Performance management tools are a strong asset for managers looking to set themselves apart following large structural changes. 

While staying and adapting to the organizational changes presents opportunities to grow in responsibility, seeking a new opportunity may be the more advantageous solution. With the removal of other middle managers, roles will shift drastically, resulting in considerably more work and new workplace challenges to navigate. Electing to seek a new position can allow for a career that has more defined responsibilities and expectations. 

Additionally, seeking a new opportunity allows for the ability to find a role with a more adequate workload.

Seeking a position elsewhere is not without challenges. Entering a new organization will entail transitional challenges as well as potential for underemployment. Consider what to prioritize when navigating whether to stay or go. 

When determining whether to stay amidst a reduction in middle management, utilize resources to weigh the options. Reach out to horizontal mentors and executive mastermind groups to gain their insights on the situation and learn from their shared experiences. Mentors may have a meaningful perspective or key considerations to help guide the decision-making process. 

During this time, it’s critical to identify career aspirations to consider how the next step could help or hinder these goals. Be introspective and identify what aspects of an organization are most important for the next phase of your career.