An urgent note about middle managers

We can't ignore this

Hey team, happy Tuesday

The sun is shining woop, and next week I’m bringing our community together for a live workshop that could completely change how you lead for the rest of 2026.

I’ll be teaching my powerful 4-part system to reset your authority, earn more respect and step into the leader you know you can be: reserve your free spot here.

But something has caught my urgent attention…

PwC’s latest ‘Workforce Hopes & Fears Survey’ confirms something I’ve seen play out for over a decade so we really need to chat about it.

I have seen that, for years, middle managers (anyone who sits in between SLT and non-people managers) have been quietly carrying organisations on their backs.

And now the data has finally caught up:

Source: PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025

Yep, you read it correctly. Employees trust their direct manager far more than they trust senior leadership.

They feel safer speaking openly with them.
They believe them more.
They go to them first when things feel uncertain, confusing or unfair.

Which tells us something most businesses still don’t want to fully face:

Culture does not live in the C-suite.
It cannot be dictated from the top.
It lives in the day-to-day relationship between a middle manager and their team.

Middle managers are our translators.
They turn direction from the top into clear outcomes and priorities.
They keep teams focused when pressure spikes.
They translate strategy into day-to-day decisions.

And yet…

They are still the most undertrained and overstretched layer of the organisation.

We are asking them to carry the emotional weight of the business without giving them the skills, systems, or support to do it well.

If you are a middle manager, do you feel genuinely equipped to carry that responsibility?

Do you know how to set clear expectations, handle difficult conversations and hold people accountable without losing trust?

And if you lead middle managers, are you giving them the skills, systems and support they need to succeed?

Because whether you are carrying that pressure yourself or supporting someone who is, middle management cannot keep being treated as the forgotten layer of the business.

It is where culture is translated, trust is built and performance is won or lost.

Peace,

H

P.S. This is exactly why Custard exists. Investing in our middle managers is officially absolutely crucial.

Custard is my new culture intelligence platform, built specifically for people operating in this middle space, where pressure comes from every direction.

It’s practical, grounded tech that helps managers to:

– Collect honest, anonymous team feedback
– Spot culture issues before they escalate
– Turn insights into clear, practical actions
– Get AI-powered coaching to lead better

Our next 50 free trial spots open on the 28th July, and the waitlist is filling up verrry quickly.