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Caught In The Middle

Angela Day

Updated: Oct 9, 2023

This posts comes from Angela Day, Au.D., an Army audiologist and eMMissary from Cohort Three. In it she talks about the all too important lesson of leading from wherever you are in the organization and not just from the top.


"When I grow up, I want to be a middle manager..." said no child ever. Yet many adults grow up to be just that, an individual who supervises employees but has someone above them that is ultimately responsible for the decisions that they, the middle manager, are making. Middle managers are everywhere, especially in the military. You have the Lieutenant, a platoon leader who is accountable for the Soldiers within their platoon and they answer to their Company Commander. You have the Company Commander, who oversees their entire company but if something serious were to happen they are now having to answer to their Battalion Commander. In the medical field, medical officers such as myself may be the Chief of their health clinic and supervise their employees but have to answer to their Department Chief for their actions.


As a middle manager we are in a unique position as we are 360-degree leaders. We must learn how to lead below, above, and across. We lead our employees or Soldiers below us, our supervisor, rater, and senior raters above us, and our peers across from us. That is a lot of leading. Sometimes we may find ourselves caught in the middle of doing what we think is best for our employees or Soldiers; yet, sadly our higher authority may not be in agreement. We may feel the tension, a sense of uncomfortableness, or perhaps the worst outcome, is the fear of receiving adverse action.


If we, as middle managers, are in a constant state of “being caught in the middle” our stress levels and anxiety may rise and it may affect our general mental well-being. So how can we ensure that we do not find ourselves in this situation? John C. Maxwell is well versed in this struggle and the following advice was influenced by his work in his book, The 360-degree Leader.

  1. Set expectations! It is a lot easier leading from the middle when you know what is expected from you. Get ahead of the situation and as soon as you take on the position of a middle manager. Set up a meeting with your supervisor to understand the expectations or for our Military members reach out to your rater and senior rater and obtain an initial counseling. This is where you will learn what are your right and left limits and how much authority you have (Maxwell). Perhaps your rater wants to be cc’d on every email you send in order to be kept in the loop or perhaps they prefer you to call them for decisions because their inbox is constantly full. Whatever the situation, ensure that you know and follow their expectations.

  2. Don’t violate their trust. Violations can occur through abusing the power of your position, intentionally undermining your leader, and using organization’s resources for personal gain. If you have ever heard someone, say “If I were in charge...” chances are there is no trust between them and their supervisor. Once trust is gone from a relationship you will find yourself permanently stuck in the middle with a constant feeling of uneasiness. If you do not agree with their decision, have private conversation with them and discuss your differences. Caveat - if this is a toxic environment and you are concerned about SHARP or EO issues have a representative with you before having a private conversation.

  3. I don’t know but I’ll find the answer! In the military culture it is known that if you don’t know the answer you never say, “I don’t know” and leave it at that. When you are caught in the middle and want to lead up, you can help your supervisor by finding the answers they need to do their job more effectively. This will help build the relationship between the two of you and reduce the tension by demonstrating your competency and dependability.

  4. De-stress! Sadly, even when all of these techniques are used you may still find that you have some residual tension. In that case, take time for yourself and relieve the stress, be it a workout, meditation, or playing a sport. It is important to find work-life balance to alleviate the tension from being caught in the middle all day.

Yes, we all wish that we are our own boss but sadly that isn’t the case. We must learn to navigate this road of leading above and below. The added element of surprise for us service members is the constant changing of duty stations and learning how to hit the “reset button” with each new boss. With each new situation take the initiative and reach out to them to set the expectations to prevent the tension before it starts to rise. We may not be able to avoid being in the middle, but we can learn to not get caught in it!


Maxwell, J. C. (2005). The 360-degree leader: Developing your influence from anywhere in the organization. Nelson Business.


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