The Expanding Equity team answers three key questions for those grappling with how to activate middle managers in workplace inclusion strategies.
Middle managers play a vital role in today’s workplaces as the connective tissue between senior leaders setting the company’s strategic direction and individual contributors working to bring that vision to life.
McKinsey conducted a survey of middle managers and found “strong managers can truly revolutionize the way employees show up to work, how they perform, and how the organization performs as a whole.” Organizations with high-performing middle managers realize up to 21 times greater total shareholder returns over five years compared to organizations with lower-performing managers. 1 Middle managers are critical for any organization-wide strategic priority, including making workplace cultures more inclusive, welcoming and respectful. Our research shows a lack of buy-in from middle managers is one of the top reasons companies cite DEI progress remains hindered 2 they often serve as the key enabler or detractor for DEI efforts within workplaces.
For the purposes of this article, middle managers are people who oversee individual workers or other managers to carry out the broader strategic objectives of executive leaders. A middle manager is somebody who has managers below them and managers above them in an organizational chart.
In our experience at Expanding Equity, helping more than 150 companies create and advance DEI strategies and initiatives, we consistently hear senior leaders grappling with how to engage the “frozen middle” in actively building a more inclusive workplace for all employees to feel a stronger sense of belonging. 3 We know firsthand how many competing priorities these middle managers have and how frequently they feel overloaded. We also know how critical they are to workplace retention, culture, and values. One study found that managers have more impact on people’s mental health than their therapist or doctors. 4 If you want to build a more inclusive workplace, you need to get your middle managers actively engaged.
One definition of inclusive leaders is “individuals who are aware of their own biases and actively seek out and consider different perspectives to inform their decision-making and collaborate more effectively with others. Inclusive leadership also means that leaders commit to ensuring all team members are treated equitably, feel a sense of belonging and value, and have the resources and support they need to achieve their full potential.” 5
While the benefits of increasing workplace inclusion have been extensively reported, 6 these benefits also extend to helping managers become more effective leaders. As workplaces become increasingly complex and diverse, 7 managers who can effectively connect, collaborate and build stronger teams are more likely to have more innovative, productive and loyal teams.
17% increase in team performance
20% increase in decision-making quality
29% increase in team collaboration compared to those without inclusive leaders
-76% Risk of employee turnover also decreases by 76% from inclusive leadership. 8
One study from Harvard Business School found that “good management now involves coordinating and collaborating with subordinates across functions to get things done” versus simply supervising them and that middle managers will continue to play a critical role in driving innovation. The study analyzed 34 million online job postings to reveal that managerial job postings that required collaborative skills and experience increased by three times between 2007 and 2021 (while job postings requiring more basic supervisory skills decreased by 23%). 9 The most effective managers are the ones who bring people together, work interdependently with other people on the team, and encourage and enable team members to do their best work.
Effectively engaging middle managers is a widespread challenge. The percentage of employees who say they are burned out has been increasing 10 and more than 50% of managers feel burnt out as well, the highest of any job level. 11 Middle managers cite organizational bureaucracy and senior leaders that negatively impact their teams as two of the top three factors that take the largest toll on their experiences. 12 Frankly, they typically do not have capacity or motivation to add more to their workloads. So, when organizations try to engage them in DEI efforts, it can be perceived as more work, more stress, and higher risk, e.g., what if I say or do the wrong thing, and get punished rather than rewarded for it—making it hard to implement, scale and sustain DEI initiatives.
For senior leaders who are grappling with how to best advance their inclusion efforts with middle managers, we offer answers to the three questions the Expanding Equity team hears most frequently in our work with DEI leaders across the private sector.
Five workplace trends highlight why it’s important for middle managers to be engaged in advancing workplace inclusion:
Three action areas capture the types of initiatives that can help leaders effectively engage middle managers in advancing workplace inclusion:
Three steps can help leaders figure out where to start:
In talking to leaders across all sectors, there are four trends that continue to surface as pressing challenges for organizational team building that middle managers are uniquely equipped to address. When middle managers are effectively engaged as more inclusive leaders, organizations have seen significant progress in successfully navigating each of these workplace trends.
With workplaces becoming increasingly diverse 13 , managers are critical to helping teams effectively collaborate to drive business results. By 2045, people of color 14 will represent more than half of the U.S. population 15 , and, while there is abundant research about the benefits of diverse teams, some research demonstrates that more diverse teams tend to experience more tension and sometimes conflict as they navigate different values, ideas and perspectives (which, when handled effectively, can lead to better outcomes). 16 This research also shows that leaders who can set clear objectives, provide constant support and motivate their teams are the key to building more innovative, collaborative and supportive teams. In contrast, diverse teams that are poorly managed can experience drop-offs in creativity, a fear of speaking up, and a lower likelihood of feeling valued. 17
Unfortunately, many managers do not feel equipped to lead teams that are becoming increasingly more diverse. A recent survey of managers revealed that only 20% strongly agree that their organizations help them be successful people managers, while over 40% either disagree or are unsure that their organizations set them up to be successful people managers. 18 Furthermore, with time spent on persistent workplace issues like poor communication, lack of role clarity and heavy workloads nearly doubling between 2008 and 2021, employees stand to be less satisfied and to feel less included at work if they lack support from their managers in navigating changing team dynamics. 19
In 2023, employee burnout 20 reached an all-time high with 42% of workers reporting burnout, up from 38% in 2021. 21 Employees of color, women and other traditionally underrepresented groups also tend to be impacted more. Women experience higher rates of burnout compared to men due to gender inequality, as they often own most of the caregiving and housework. 22 Women aren’t just overburdened with caregiving and housework at home; they also do 29% more office housework than White men. 23 Employees of color experience an “emotional tax” at work, that is, being on guard to protect themselves from potential bias, and they are more likely to take on DEI work in addition to their day jobs. 24
With employees who are burnt out being 2.6 times more likely to be looking for another job, companies may see their DEI efforts falter as it becomes harder to retain diverse talent. 25 An inclusive work environment (in addition to systemic changes like worker and family-friendly company benefits and policies) can help shield companies from the risk of employee burnout and the negative effects that come along with it. Employees who feel like a valued member of their team are 57% less likely to experience burnout. 26
With 45% of an employee’s experiences of inclusion being explained by their manager’s behavior, managers (again) hold the cards to helping employees stay the course during tough times.
Interested to learn more? Check out these tips on what to do when your employee tells you they’re burned out.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have explored new flexible working models. Broadly speaking, employees have dramatically increased their expectations on workplace flexibility (where, when, and how work can be done)—one study found that workplace flexibility was the top reason that people reentered the workforce (44%). 27 But shockingly, 70% of managers say they have had no formal training in how to lead a hybrid team. 28
While these flexible work models can improve work-life balance, productivity and autonomy, they can also have unintended consequences like unequal access to career advancement opportunities. 29 For example, employees who work remotely have a higher chance of being overlooked by their managers and cite hybrid challenges such as less access to resources, lowered opportunities for feedback and reduced team and relationship building time. These impacts have additional DEI implications given that women and people of color tend to be more likely to prefer to work from home. 30 Additionally, the majority of employees are also hesitant to use other flexible work benefits like paid caregiver leave and mental health days for fear of being seen as being less committed to their jobs and not receiving career advancement opportunities. 31
Effective managers are required for workplace flexibility programs to be successful and equitably. Managers can personalize and tailor flexible work policies to build high performing teams that maximize the benefits offered by the company. For example, when properly trained managers can work with their team to develop guidelines for when they will utilize in person experiences to drive team impact. Finally, managers can encourage employees to leverage flexible work options by visibly role modeling their own practices of utilizing it, which will help to reduce any stigma around it. For example, when a White male middle manager has a flexible arrangement that he starts work at 8 a.m. , so that he can go pick up his kids from school at 4 p.m., that sends a signal to the entire team that these types of arrangements are allowed and encouraged.
Middle managers can play a role in helping workplace flexibility programs scale successfully across the company which can play a direct role in retaining and growing talent.
Interested to learn more? Check out these 5 rules to better manage hybrid work.
Companies continue to share concerns about increasing societal and political polarization making its way into the workplace, and managers may not be equipped to handle difficult conversations that may arise from this polarization. 32 In 2022, 45% of workers reported that they had experienced political disagreements at work. 33 A recent employee survey revealed that 19% of respondents reported difficulty working with colleagues with differing political beliefs. 34
It is becoming increasingly important for managers to be skilled at having difficult and sometimes contentious conversations – about 65% of employees say that their company has a responsibility to speak up on important issues, even if the issue is sensitive or controversial. 35 Managers are often one of the first people employees look to when they want to understand how their organization and its leaders are thinking about a particular issue. Providing managers with the skills and resources to make space for tough topics can help employees feel seen and reduce the psychological strain they may be experiencing at work. 36
Interested to learn more? Check out this resource on talking to your team about distressing news events.
Even when companies have effectively linked the benefits of inclusion to their overall company strategy (e.g., we will all benefit and be more successful in our strategic aspirations if our workplace is inclusive), there can still be significant resistance from middle managers when it comes to practicing and implementing it. In our work helping companies develop and execute DEI strategies, we have heard three common sentiments from leaders about why middle managers are often not as engaged in advancing workplace inclusion: “I don’t have the time or energy”; “I don’t want to say or do something wrong” and “This isn’t my responsibility.”
To help leaders make meaningful progress across these three action areas, we offer a set of example initiatives and deep dives as thought starters for what companies can implement. Based on our experience, these are some of the most commonly implemented initiatives in each action area. However, despite widespread implementation, we see many companies struggle to realize their desired impact due to ineffective approaches and tactics. Each deep-dive includes leading practices, important considerations and additional resources to help you make long-lasting change at your organization.
We also acknowledge the real challenges that middle managers are facing in the workplace and encourage companies to focus on better supporting their managers and building trusting relationships. In 2023, more than 60% of managers said their companies gave them more job responsibilities over the past year and only about 20% of managers believe their company cares about their well-being. 37 So, if you’re asking your middle managers to show more care and concern for their team members, senior leaders need to start by showing more care and concern for their middle managers. Consequently, many managers are disengaged and ready to leave – only about 30% of managers said they were engaged at work, and 55% of managers said they were seeking a new job. 38 Leaders focused on advancing workplace inclusion must also work collaboratively with middle managers to understand more about their current experiences—actively creating regular opportunities to listen to their concerns, identify underlying challenges, and co-create solutions.
When a manufacturer noticed an opportunity to better support their supervisors, they decided to host focus groups to learn more about their specific needs and desires. They put together a listening session toolkit to help scale and consistently facilitate these conversations, including how to set up the focus group, what kinds of questions to ask, and how to follow-up with participants. These focus groups gave the company enough insight to implement specific interventions designed to directly address the biggest concerns of the supervisors (e.g., feeling overburdened, not enough clarity about company strategy). Today, the toolkit is a best-practice resource that leaders continue to reference when they lead listening sessions with their teams, employee resource groups (ERGs), and departments.
A global financial services firm strengthens inclusion by equipping their managers with in-depth training, tools and resources. All managers are required to take DEI training programs focused on building inclusive leadership, including modules such as You Belong Here, Culture of Respect and Journey to Inclusive Teams. Additionally, the company’s leadership development program focuses on eight manager capabilities – one of which is prioritizing DEI. The program has instructor-led programs and digital content so that managers can engage in live sessions and access self-paced content.
A global investment management firm has embedded inclusive behaviors in performance expectations for every role. These behaviors are embedded into the core behaviors and abilities that employees and people leaders are evaluated on, such as how they collaborate and communicate, create a psychologically safe and inclusive environment, and mentor and sponsor others. During the performance review process, the firm intentionally identifies DEI champions so that employees going above and beyond to advance workplace inclusion are appropriately recognized and rewarded.
While it can sometimes be overwhelming to effectively design initiatives for middle managers who are overworked and stressed, we consistently see that the benefits can be transformative when inclusion strategies are implemented well. We encourage all leaders working on inclusion to get proximate to middle managers to understand their needs, challenges, ideas and preferences. By developing a deeper understanding of their realities and co-creating ideas for inclusion interventions, organizations can partner with middle managers to design more effective solutions, which can lead to a better culture, greater employee satisfaction and retention.
We have developed an initial action planning worksheet to help guide the reflection and initial planning efforts for leaders who are not sure where to get started.
View WorksheetMiddle managers can play one of the most significant roles in advancing workplace inclusion – they often interact with their employees more than anyone else at the organization and consequently can have a significant impact on employee engagement, well-being and career advancement. By first identifying where managers may need the most support and designing fit-for-purpose inclusion initiatives, companies can implement the most effective initiatives for their unique organizational context, contributing to a workplace culture of inclusion and belonging that helps all businesses and workers thrive.