What the research says

Why do middle managers feel caught in the middle?

The short answer

One answer from the studies we mapped: they sit on both sides of control at once. In focus groups, middle managers shifted between going along with and pushing back on the standard manager role, both controlled and controlling. At a Brazilian accounting firm, they saw themselves as proactive agents yet also as lacking autonomy and belonging. Two conceptual papers look at how middle managers juggle competing demands, and one case shows them pushing back on a company script. One theory paper argues the position between top and front-line views can help an organization learn. None of the studies here is rated high strength, and all are qualitative or conceptual.

Based on 7 studies from the Atlas of the Middle: 0 rated high strength, 1 medium, 6 low. Designs: conceptual (3), qualitative interviews (2), qualitative case (2).

Controlled and controlling

In focus groups, middle managers shifted between going along with and pushing back on the standard manager role. At a Brazilian accounting firm, middle managers routinely shifted between acting as active mediators and as mere coordination devices.

Harding et al. (2014) · qualitative interviews · LowWho is ‘the middle manager’?Listening to middle managers talk about their work in focus groups, the authors argue they shift between going along with and pushing back on the standard manager role, both controlled and controlling.Azambuja & Islam (2019) · qualitative case · MediumWorking at the boundaries: Middle managerial work as a source of emancipation and alienationMiddle managers at a Brazilian accounting firm saw themselves as proactive, reflective agents yet also as lacking autonomy and belonging, and routinely shifted between active mediators and mere coordination devices.

Competing demands

Two conceptual papers look at the juggling. One proposes negotiated order as a lens on middle managers handling competing roles during change. The other argues middle managers keep corporate social initiatives alive by balancing profit and social demands.

Bryant & Stensaker (2011) · conceptual · LowThe Competing Roles of Middle Management: Negotiated Order In the Context of ChangeThe authors propose negotiated order as a lens on middle managers juggling competing roles during change, urging study of how they negotiate new ways of working, within themselves, and over how far they can legitimately push.Sharma & Good (2013a) · conceptual · LowThe Work of Middle ManagersThe authors argue that middle managers keep corporate social initiatives alive by balancing profit and social demands, and propose a model, illustrated with field data, of how they do this work and the capacities it takes.

Pushing back on the script

At Disneyland, middle managers pushed back on a company script that put effectiveness ahead of ethics, recasting themselves as seekers of practical wisdom.

Bardon et al. (2017) · qualitative case · LowIdentity regulation, identity work and phronesisAt Disneyland, middle managers pushed back on a company script that put effectiveness ahead of ethics, recasting themselves as seekers of practical wisdom.

The in-between position can be useful

One theory paper proposes that middle managers, caught between top and front-line views, can help organizations learn from rare events by stirring up differing interpretations and later blending them. Interviews with HR and organizational development managers working as internal consultants, not middle managers in general, suggest an in-between identity can be a source of strength as well as strain.

Beck & Plowman (2009) · conceptual · LowExperiencing Rare and Unusual Events Richly: The Role of Middle Managers in Animating and Guiding Organizational InterpretationThe authors propose that middle managers, caught between top and front-line views, can help organizations learn from rare events by first stirring up differing interpretations and later blending them into a richer shared read.Wright (2009) · qualitative interviews · LowInside Out? Organizational Membership, Ambiguity and the Ambivalent Identity of the Internal ConsultantInterviews with HR and organizational development managers working as internal consultants suggest they build an in-between identity, part insider and part outsider, that can be a source of strength as well as strain.

What I take from it

My read is that feeling caught in the middle comes with the position, and is not a sign someone is doing the job badly. I would name the tension openly with the managers carrying a change, rather than leave each of them to resolve it alone.

This is my reading, Gabriel Lopez's, not a finding of the studies above.

Common questions

Is role conflict normal for middle managers?

Two qualitative studies describe it directly. In focus groups, middle managers shifted between going along with and pushing back on the standard manager role, and at a Brazilian accounting firm they saw themselves as proactive agents yet also as lacking autonomy and belonging.

Can being in the middle be an advantage?

One theory paper proposes it can: middle managers caught between top and front-line views can help an organization learn from rare events by first stirring up differing interpretations and later blending them into a richer shared read. It is a proposal, not a tested finding.

Free guideThe 12 core answers in one 15-page PDFWhat the research says about change in the middle, with how strong the evidence is.Get the guide

Every summary on this page was written by Unfrozen from the study's abstract or full text and checked twice by independent AI reviewers. Loop coding is exploratory and AI-assisted, pending human verification. Spot an error? Email info@unfreeze.us and it gets fixed.