Middle manager burnout demands more than just lighter workloads

The pressure on middle managers is often overwhelming. In order to avoid burnout, relieving some of the pressure is not enough – organizations need to reinforce their support systems.

Finding a solution means helping managers develop to not just cope, but also grow as they lead, according to new insight from Christine Tao, CEO of Sounding Board, part of BTS.

Many organizations have a weak spot: When pressure builds, it often accumulates in the middle. Middle management carries the burdens of retaining talent, leading company culture, directing strategic change, and hitting performance goals. And it is not only that – they are also tasked with the wider mission of translating executive visions into something tangible for all employees.

The reality is that middle managers often do all of this without clear direction or feedback and would do much better if they were offered better development support. Only 21% say they are thriving, according to a survey on burnout from Future Forum and Gallup.

The challenge of holding it all together

Middle managers are tasked with acting like the glue that holds an organization together – bridging the gap between upper management and what teams are actually doing.

“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,” says Tao.

“They rely on outdated perspectives on learning and capability building, and are often informal at best.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.”

The average middle manager is expected to coach and develop teams, lead in DEI and other parts of company culture, and balance employee expectations with the realities of what an organization can actually offer. Balancing all this can lead, in the worst case scenario, to burnout.

Avoiding burnout

The reality is that burnout is not just about personal wellbeing. While that is an important factor for any organization, burnout can also have a serious impact on the overall health of the organization. When middle managers face burnout, teams can become unengaged and initiatives in innovation or development can lose momentum.

“The most common response to manager burnout is to ‘lighten the load.’ But that doesn’t address the structural issue,” explains Tao. “You can remove a few books from the shelf. But if the structure was never designed to hold the weight, it still bends under the pressure.”

Middle managers are three times more likely to leave their roles than other positions, according to the Future Forum survey. Finding a solution to this problem means creating a better support system, not just reducing the amount of work.

Providing effective support

“The most forward-looking organizations are shifting away from ad hoc fixes and leaning into investing in structured, measurable capability-building,” says Tao.

That means working more on developing leadership capacity that can be sustained over time. Embedding development into managers’ roles means that they can grow as they lead, rather than just cope with the pressure.

What that actually looks like in practical terms: Goals created together by managers and senior leaders, reflection and feedback that builds self-awareness, more development experience, and more targeted support.

Coaching can play a central role in this type of development, Tao notes. While many organizations have long understood the importance of coaching for senior executives, coaching at the manager level has now also become a key part of the strategy of successful businesses.

“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 a massive part of how organizations move from check-the-box training to actual transformation,” adds Tao.

The main takeaway is that moving beyond just mitigating burnout means putting a strategic development system into place that is capable of helping managers build their leadership capabilities. The entire organization stands to benefit when middle managers are empowered.