Three out of four managers feel overwhelmed, stressed or burned out.

This worrying figure came from a recent survey of UK managers by Capterra, which also revealed that many managers are actively looking for a new job.

In a fast-changing world, middle managers perform a delicate balancing act, often dealing with conflicting needs and demands.

It’s a challenging situation – but not an impossible one.

Managers can no longer get by on just basic management skills. But as their role expands and evolves, with the right training and support, they can thrive.

And this means leaders investing in leadership development, emotional intelligence and change management.

Read on for my four top tips to help your managers to thrive.

What’s changing?

While managers were once seen as the go-betweens linking executives and frontline staff, it’s being accepted more and more that a far wider range of skills, including leadership and managing change, are key to success in their role.

Often finding themselves caught in the middle between the strategic direction of senior leaders and the daily needs of their teams, middle managers can become stuck between strategy and operational support.

As humans, it’s hard to switch between longer-term thinking – typically slower and deeper – and day to day responsive, more reactive activity, which requires more rapid, in-the-moment responses.

Facing increasing pressure from all sides, middle managers, particularly as they move up the ranks, can become demotivated and frustrated without the right resources and support. This risks burnout and/or your managers looking for opportunities elsewhere.

While some challenges that middle managers face are well-known, there are others which are more subtle – but equally impactful.

So, what are the main challenges that middle managers face? And how can senior leaders help them to be more agile in their shifting role?

Dealing with change

Organisational change is constant, but responses to it vary widely depending on the employees.

Some staff may resist change out of fear or scepticism, while others may be overly eager to please, implementing changes prematurely or without fully understanding them.

Managers must balance these extremes, making sure that initiatives are adopted effectively but also keeping teams informed, motivated and engaged.

This means navigating different, and sometimes conflicting, personalities and perspectives. Diplomacy and empathy are key.

Increased workload and role creep

One major shift in managers’ roles is that they are expected to lead, coach, execute and report while often managing their own workload and personal responsibilities.

And as organisations continue to streamline teams to reduce costs, managers often absorb extra responsibilities – without any extra support training or even recognition.

For example, they may be expected to function as both strategic thinkers and operational problem-solvers, but without clarity on where their priorities should lie. They may also feel obliged to work unpaid overtime to absorb the extra work.

Mind the gap

Despite the demands of their roles, middle managers have traditionally been promoted based on their ability to do their job rather than on their leadership potential.

The Capterra research found that 77% of managers had not received any form of managerial training.

And any training given often focuses on generic leadership rather than specific challenges. If your managers have access to e-learning platforms to learn skills, are these presented in a real-world context?

If it doesn’t involve exploratory dialogue, it’s difficult to provide the nuance and context, so managers will struggle to know how to handle different employee situations.

Limited powers and conflicting expectations

Senior leadership may decide on the workplace culture, but it’s their middle managers who are expected to uphold it. And culture isn’t a top down thing.

And while managers may be encouraged to be empathetic, do they have the tools they need to do the job? How much autonomy do they have – can they offer staff real flexibility, higher pay or extra support?

On top of this, they’re responsible for enforcing rules from above while making sure things work in practice – but are often not clear about when they should escalate an issue or take ownership. This can lead to frustration, uncertainty, stress and burnout.

Managing remote working

One of the biggest changes managers have had to navigate in recent years is the increase in home, remote and hybrid working.

This shift presents a whole host of issues, many of which fall on managers’ shoulders – not least, the need to create motivated, productive and engaged employees working across different locations and often vastly different environments. Then there are time zones to consider for global players.

Leaders may have to wrestle with unclear flexible working policies, or advocate for their teams while navigating leadership expectations about staff being in the office.

Stuck in the middle

Middle managers are expected to give and receive feedback in multiple directions.

This includes upwards to senior leadership, managing expectations and challenging decisions diplomatically, and downwards to their teams, sharing constructive feedback while maintaining morale.

They might also have to give feedback laterally to colleagues in similar roles, and cross-functionally to stakeholders in different departments – some of whom may have competing priorities.

This requires emotional intelligence skills and the ability to adapt communication styles depending on the person.

Show me the money

Managers’ salaries often aren’t high enough to compensate for the pressure, responsibility and complexity of their role, especially when compared with those they are managing.

This can result in them feeling stuck and unmotivated.

Retaining talent

Employees’ expectations are far different than they were a decade ago – or even five years ago.

Today’s workforce expects more autonomy, flexible working, a better work/life balance and meaningful work which aligns with their values. This is especially relevant for younger staff, who also expect support around wellbeing.

But managers are often faced with a mission impossible: Keeping their teams motivated and engaged while dealing with limited resources or support.

How to build middle manager success

Don’t forget that managers face similar personal challenges to the rest of your employees, whether it’s financial worries, responsibilities around childcare or older parents, or mental health issues.

So, handling their own work-life balance can also feel like a struggle. They can feel pressure to appear strong and resilient at all times. This is not healthy – or sustainable.

To prevent burnout and promote healthy, thriving teams, we need to rethink how we support middle managers.

Here are my four top tips to help them to thrive in the workplace.

Create clarity and transparency

Get clear on your managers’ roles and responsibilities – and make sure they have total clarity on this too.

Keep communication open, honest and regular, focusing on essential information. And be transparent about decisions and challenges to build trust and encourage an open dialogue.

Ditch the bureaucracy

Everyone has a different management style, so recognise and encourage this. Give managers the freedom to build confidence, creativity and connection – don’t stifle them with bureaucracy.

Delegate tasks and give people the necessary resources and support so they can make informed decisions.

Trust your teams to deliver while providing guidance and support to empower them.

Prioritise personal development

Invest in high-quality mentoring programmes – carefully select and train mentors so they can provide the best guidance and support. There are lots of ways to do this, including through establishing reverse mentoring schemes where younger staff mentor older colleagues.

To reduce stress, train your managers in skills like time management, prioritisation, delegation and how to push back on unrealistic deadlines.

And offer tailored personal development plans which support individual managers’ career goals and strengths.

If you show managers that you value their wellbeing and career growth, they’re more likely to give their best performance and be loyal to the organisation.

Celebrate achievements

If a manager has done a good job – tell them! Regularly acknowledging and celebrating achievements is really important for making managers feel appreciated, and boosting their confidence and motivation.

And always try to give constructive feedback in a timely manner.

Train your managers in this too to help them develop their leadership skills.

Going from burnout to balance

Your middle managers are the glue holding your business together, and leaders need to think about how to support and nurture them as their role changes.

Through a mix of empowerment, training and reward, you can make them feel valued and motivated.

Look after your middle managers, and they’ll help you to drive your business forwards, whatever changes the future holds.