The silent strain on people managers
In nearly every organization undergoing change, one group consistently bears the brunt but rarely gets the spotlight: people managers.
They’re asked to translate leadership strategy into team action. To keep morale high while expectations shift. To embody calm, clarity, and direction while managing their own uncertainty. In effect, these “middle managers” become both the messengers of change and the emotional shock absorbers for their teams.
These roles are always demanding. During times of significant organizational change, they become unsustainable without added support.
Recent research from Gallup (2024) underscores this truth: managers are more affected by disruptive organizational change than any other group. Compared to their teams or senior leaders, they’re more likely to report burnout, disengagement, and confusion about the strategic direction.
And yet, in many change strategies, managers remain under-supported, under-informed, and expected to “figure it out.” The result? Even the best transformation plans falter in execution not because of poor intent, but because the people at the center of the change aren’t fully equipped to lead through the change.
This article explores the root of the “manager squeeze” and what organizations must do to relieve it before it undermines their culture, performance, and ability to change at scale.
Why managers are struggling more than ever
Organizational change has never moved faster or hit harder. As companies navigate mergers, digital transformations, shifting market demands, and evolving workforce expectations, the pressure on people managers continues to grow.
They are being asked to do more with less. That includes more communication, more adaptation, and more emotional labor, often without the tools or clarity they need to succeed. At the same time, they are managing the same uncertainty as their teams.
According to Gallup’s 2024 report, Disruptive Change Is Hitting Leaders and Managers Hardest, managers are among the most likely to report high levels of burnout and disengagement. While their responsibilities have expanded, their influence has not kept pace. They are expected to lead others through change while often having little input into how that change is shaped or implemented.
This issue affects more than just morale. It creates operational risk. The C-Suite Strategy article, The Dynamic Role of Middle Management in Modern Organizations, describes how middle managers are caught between two sets of expectations. Senior leaders want alignment and flawless execution. Employees going through the change need empathy, clarity, and real-time support. Managers are forced to navigate these competing demands while being left out of many critical planning conversations. At the same time, managers are themselves impacted by the same changes their employees are facing.
Without consistent support, the gap between strategy and execution widens. Stress increases, engagement drops, and the organization loses momentum at the very level where change needs to take hold.
To build resilience and drive transformation, organizations must begin by recognizing and addressing the pressure points facing their managers.
The middle management dilemma
Middle managers hold one of the most complex roles in any organization. They are expected to understand high-level strategic goals and translate them into practical actions for their teams. At the same time, they are responsible for relaying employee concerns upward and maintaining team morale during periods of uncertainty.
This dual responsibility creates a unique kind of tension. Managers must demonstrate alignment with senior leadership and deep understanding of the value of the change while also serving as a buffer for their teams. When strategy shifts, they are often the ones left to explain the “why” behind decisions they did not help shape. When change meets resistance, they are expected to resolve it without the authority to adjust timelines or priorities.
The C-Suite Strategy article calls this the “middle manager squeeze.” It is the result of systemic gaps in communication, empowerment, and support. Research cited in the article shows that when middle managers are disengaged, the ripple effects are immediate and widespread. Teams lose focus, cross-functional collaboration suffers, and cultural cohesion begins to break down.
This is not a reflection of individual performance. It is a structural and operational challenge. Organizations that overlook the role of middle management in successful change initiatives risk losing traction where it matters most.
To unlock the full potential of any transformation effort, leaders must stop viewing managers as mere conduits. They are key contributors, and they need to be treated as such, provided with the tools, context, and trust that allow them to lead effectively.
What managers actually need during times of change
Managers are often expected to lead with clarity, empathy, and decisiveness. But those qualities don’t come from instinct alone. They are shaped by the environment senior leaders create around them-and the resources they are given to succeed.
When change is on the horizon, most organizations prioritize enterprise-wide communications and executive briefings. Managers are left somewhere in the middle, trying to fill the gap between vision and execution. Yet these managers have access to information and insights that need to be integrated into the change strategy. To bridge that gap effectively, they need a few critical things.
1. Clear communication from leadership
Managers should be among the first to understand what is changing and why. This means more than just forwarding an internal memo. They need direct access to leadership context so they can explain changes confidently and consistently to their teams.
2. Practical tools for leading through change
Most managers are not trained change agents. They need guidance on how to communicate with their teams, anticipate resistance, and support new behaviors. Leadership toolkits-complete with talking points, timeline snapshots, and scenario planning-give managers something concrete to rely on.
Additionally, companies should invest in Leading Through Change training for people managers, providing them with an understanding of change management approaches and equipping them with the tools to help build a change resilient culture within their teams and across the organization.
If you’re exploring how to equip your leaders to guide teams through change with confidence and clarity, connect with Senscient. We can help you build a tailored roadmap aligned to your organization’s goals.
3. Role-specific support
Every department and function experiences change differently. Managers need support that reflects the realities of their teams. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely works. Tailored coaching, team-level change guides, or check-ins specific to department challenges can make all the difference.
Even more importantly, these managers should be invited to contribute when planning the change initiatives. They best understand how the change will impact their teams, including nuances that could help shape adoption and minimize resistance. Providing managers with a voice early in the process not only helps in defining change impacts but also engages these key change ambassadors with knowledge sooner than later.
4. A place to ask questions and be heard
Change is not a one-way message. Managers need opportunities to raise concerns, test assumptions, and clarify expectations. They also have feedback from their teams that can prove valuable in the successful execution of change strategies and drive acceptance and adoption. Without these feedback loops, misunderstandings fester and alignment suffers.
Many companies measure employee sentiment during times of change, but few focus specifically on manager sentiment. When leaders demonstrate they want to understand what managers need during the transformation, and use that insight to shape plans, engagement and support from those tasked with implementing the change will increase.
As organizations invest in these support structures, their managers do more than carry out a plan. They become credible and confident leaders of change. And when managers lead well, their teams are far more likely to follow.
How Senscient supports managers to lead change
At Senscient, we believe that effective change doesn’t happen around managers. It happens through them. That’s why our approach puts managers at the center of a transformation, not on the sidelines.
We start by working with senior leadership to ensure that the change strategy is aligned and clearly articulated. Before a single announcement goes out, we help organizations pressure test their messaging with people managers, identifying potential points of friction, and developing a framework that managers can actually use.
Our manager enablement programs are practical and tailored. Rather than generic leadership training, we provide real-world resources to help managers lead their teams with clarity and confidence. These include:
Training for managers on Leading Through Change, adapted to the specific changes the company is navigating, helps ensure “change resiliency” will be developed over time.
Change leadership toolkits with talking points, key messages, FAQs, and guidance for team conversations along with training on how to use these tools will ensure that employees hear consistent, timely, and relevant information that will help foster acceptance and adoption.
Role-specific coaching sessions help managers translate high-level goals into day-to-day actions.
Early education on how the managers themselves can adapt to and adopt the specific change helps them prepare to lead teams through the change with knowledge and confidence.
Feedback loops and reporting templates provide a path for managers to elevate employee concerns and share insights from the front lines.
Check-in rhythms and leadership forums keep managers aligned and connected throughout the change process, ensuring everyone is up to date on the latest plans and understands the change impacts to both operations and people.
This level of support does more than increase manager effectiveness. It builds trust across the organization. When employees see their direct leaders engaged, confident, and equipped to guide them, they are more likely to remain committed through periods of uncertainty.
By giving managers the tools and visibility they need, organizations create the conditions for change to stick-and for the culture to strengthen, not erode, in the process.
Creating a feedback loop: listening to managers during times of change.
Supporting managers during change doesn’t stop at communication and toolkits. It also means creating space for them to speak up.
Too often, middle managers are expected to absorb change directives and pass them along, without being invited to share what they’re seeing and experiencing in real time. But managers are closer to day-to-day operations than most senior leaders. They hear employee concerns first, spot early signs of resistance, and understand where new strategies may or may not land effectively.
Ignoring that insight is a missed opportunity. Worse, it signals to managers that their perspective isn’t valued, which can quickly erode engagement and morale.
To prevent this, organizations need a structured plan for managers to share feedback on a recurring basis, both from their teams and from their own experiences. This includes:
- Manager sentiment surveys conducted throughout the change timeline foster engagement and also ensure that people managers have a mechanism to share key insights and feedback on the company’s change narrative and plans.
- Regular change listening sessions with leaders provide managers a chance to directly raise red flags or ask for clarification of change plans in an open forum.
- Anonymous channels for surfacing concerns that may not be voiced openly are key to gauging whether change messaging is resonating or missing the mark.
- Leadership forums that invite cross-functional dialogue allow for collective problem solving.
- Simple reporting tools to help managers quickly elevate team trends or repeated concerns can ultimately help mitigate resistance to the change.
When this feedback is acknowledged, acted upon, and integrated into the change plan, it reinforces trust. Managers feel seen and supported, and employees benefit from a more responsive leadership environment.
These feedback loops also allow organizations to course-correct early, before misalignment becomes disengagement or turnover. Change becomes more adaptive, more grounded, and more sustainable.
Listening to managers isn’t just good practice. It’s essential for delivering meaningful transformation.
The takeaway: support your managers, strengthen your culture
When organizations invest in transformation, they often focus on systems, structures, and strategy. But the success of those efforts is shaped, more than anything else, by the people tasked with leading them-especially the managers navigating the middle.
These leaders carry the responsibility of turning vision into reality. They balance pressure from the top with accountability to their teams. And in times of change, they are often asked to perform without a clear playbook or adequate support.
The most effective organizations recognize that middle managers aren’t just execution agents. They are cultural amplifiers, early warning systems, and trust-builders. Investing in their success means investing in the success of the entire organization.
Let’s Connect
At Senscient, we help organizations build the structures and support systems that allow managers to lead with confidence, communicate with clarity, and foster resilient teams during change.
If your managers are being asked to deliver results without the guidance or resources to get there, let’s talk.
📩 Reach out to explore how we can help your leaders lead through change.
