Mid-level managers are some of the most important people on an advancement team—and, often, they are some of the more overlooked. Middle managers have a variety of roles, including leading teams, managing people, helping implement mission-critical projects, and keeping the daily functions of an office moving in the right direction.
Being a middle manager can be incredibly rewarding. It offers a sweet spot of performing and excelling in a job while still engaging in leadership and administrative tasks. A 2023 McKinsey book, Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to Future Work, calls mid-level managers “navigators, connectors, and coaches” who can “bring out the best in people.” It can be an ideal place to make a positive difference for the institution and for the team.
But middle management can also be challenging, because it involves managing up, leading across, communicating expectations that may have been set by someone else and may not have been fully explained, and receiving constant complaints or suggestions to improve. In a global survey of managers, the Center for Creative Leadership found that mid-level managers struggle with these five challenges the most:
Self-doubt and feelings of personal limitation,
Challenging work contexts—for instance, financial tumult and difficulties with staff morale,
Relationship-building,
Influence—building partnerships across the organization, managing up, etc., and
Balancing competing priorities.
For a manager in the middle—not a senior executive, but also not a brand-new leader—it can feel like there is a void of advice, professional development, or training for support. But mid-level managers are critical to helping our institutions and advancement teams thrive. They translate executive strategy into action, build team culture, and often serve as the most consistent touchpoint between staff and leadership. Without strong middle management, communication falters, engagement drops, and even the key strategies may struggle to gain significant traction. A 2025 survey from the global consulting firm Korn Ferry emphasized the value of strong mid-level managers for productivity and alignment—noting that staff members say a trusted manager is a top reason they stay at their organization and remain engaged with their work.
