It all started with the BIG question on the table.

How do we partner with middle managers instead of clashing with them?

This Coffee Chat dove into one of the most complicated roles in any organization. Middle managers sit at the crossroads of leadership expectations, daily operations, and learning initiatives. They can be your biggest ally or your biggest barrier, often depending on how well they understand their role in supporting development.

The chat quickly turned to some all-too-familiar struggles. Managers who block progress, expect new hires to be experts, or try to run training their own way. Others just don’t think helping their teams learn is part of the gig. And honestly, most are pulled in so many directions that learning ends up taking a back seat.

We talked about what it looks like to shift that relationship from tension to partnership. It starts with inviting managers into the process early, giving them visibility into what’s coming, involving them in decisions, and offering easy-to-use tools that help them lead conversations about learning. One participant shared a “leader-led learning” model that made managers the heroes by equipping them with resources to guide discussions with their teams.

Sometimes we toss training over the fence and expect managers to run with it, even though no one’s ever taught them how. When we bring them in, let them learn alongside their teams, and show how it connects to their own goals, the tension starts to ease. Suddenly, learning feels like something they want to be part of, not just another box to check.

In the end, middle managers are not the enemy. They’re just caught in the middle. The more we treat them as partners rather than obstacles, the stronger our learning cultures become.

Stay curious!

-Shannon

Video

Transcript

Transcript Summary

Chatbox

Resources

Learning Rebels’ CTRL + ALT + BUILD: The Microlearning Lab for Modern L&D Workshop

The Power Hour Tool

Leader Led Learning Series

20 Ways Managers Can Create a Culture of Continuous Learning

How to Involve Managers in Learning Programs3 Actionable Steps For Managers to Cultivate a Learning Culture

How To Create a Learning Culture: 18 Best Practices

Leaders' Critical Role in Building a Learning Culture

Books

Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work by Bill Schaninger, Bryan Hancock, and Emily Field

Caught in the Middle: 5 Crucial Insights into Mastering Middle Management by Maria Simpson

Leading Change from the Middle: A Practical Guide to Building Extraordinary Capabilities by Jackson Nickerson

The Middle Management Challenge: Moving from Crisis to Empowerment by Alan L. Frohman and Leonard W. Johnson

 

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Host: Shannon Tipton 

Podcast produced by: Obsidian Productions