Let Middle Managers Take the Lead during Change

When companies discuss culture change, they often begin at the top. Executives outline a new vision, launch a communications campaign and maybe bring in consultants to run workshops. But culture doesn’t change because someone gives a keynote presentation. It changes when behaviors shift — consistently and visibly — across teams. And no one is more central to that shift than senior middle managers.

As a leadership strategist and executive coach who works with organizations on large-scale transformations, I repeatedly see this misstep. Middle managers are the culture carriers. If you want lasting change, you have to empower the layer that touches every part of the organization.

So, what does real empowerment look like, and how can leaders stop sidelining the people most critical to their company’s evolution?

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