If you want to understand where the pressure is building in your organization, look at your middle managers. They sit at the center of it all—and that center is under strain.
They’re expected to lead strategic change, drive culture, retain talent, and hit performance goals—all while translating executive vision into everyday action. But they’re often doing it without clear direction, real-time feedback, or consistent development support.
And now the data confirms it: the squeeze is real—and getting tighter. In 2025, 45% of middle managers report burnout—higher than any other group. Only 21% say they’re thriving. (Future Forum, Gallup) That’s not just a warning sign. It’s a leadership risk.
The rising cost of holding the middle
Middle managers aren’t just task owners—they’re the force that connects vision to execution. And we’re asking them to do more than ever:
- Lead through ambiguity
- Coach and develop teams
- Champion DEI and hybrid culture
- Balance employee expectations and business constraints
- Prepare for next-level leadership roles
They’re expected to model the organization’s values while delivering results. But the systems designed to support them haven’t evolved at the same pace. They rely on outdated perspectives on learning and capability building, and are often informal at best.
The result? Too many managers are being asked to grow faster than the organization is growing its capacity to support them.
Burnout isn’t a side effect—it’s a signal
When middle managers burn out, business performance suffers.
- Middle managers are 3 times more likely to leave (Future Forum, 2025)
- Their teams underperform or disengage
- Innovation, development, and inclusion efforts lose momentum
Burnout isn’t just about wellbeing—it’s about organizational readiness.
It’s not just about removing pressure. It’s about reinforcing strength.
The most common response to manager burnout is to “lighten the load.” But that doesn’t address the structural issue. You can remove a few books from the shelf. But if the structure was never designed to hold the weight, it still bends under pressure.
Managers don’t just need less work. They need better support systems.
What effective support looks like in 2025
The most forward-looking organizations are shifting away from ad hoc fixes and leaning into investing in structured, measurable capability-building. It’s not about more content. It’s about developing real, sustained leadership capacity. The organizations who are embedding development into the flow of work are developing managers who don’t just cope, they grow.
What’s working:
- Co-created goals between managers and senior leaders
- Ongoing reflection and feedback loops that build self-awareness
- Development experiences that stretch leadership capability in real time
- Targeted support that improves coaching, communication, and decision-making
When support is consistent and measurable, managers build the adaptability, clarity, and presence needed to lead through complexity—not just react to it.
Coaching interventions
Managers who are truly effective aren’t just trained—they’re supported by coaching that strengthens behavior change over time, connects individual development to real business goals, and builds a sustainable leadership pipeline. It’s massive part of how organizations move from check-the-box training to actual transformation. For years most organizations have understood the value of coaching their senior executives. It’s those enterprises who have figured out the power that coaching unlocks at the manager level are ahead of the game now.
Building stronger foundations, not just lighter loads
The middle manager squeeze isn’t going away, but it can be addressed.
That shift starts when organizations move beyond burnout mitigation toward embedding strategic development systems that build real leadership capacity—and track progress along the way.
Because when you strengthen the center, you strengthen the whole organization.
Want to see how leading companies are building manager capability at scale?
Now part of BTS, Sounding Board brings a clearer, data-backed view of what’s working—and where high-performers need to grow next via:
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