Stuck in the Middle: Leading When You Didn't Make the Call with Jeff Geier
No More Leadership BS
Stuck in the Middle: Leading When You Didn't Make the Call with Jeff Geier
September 30, 2026
Middle managers get handed decisions they didn't make and told to make everyone happy about them. This episode takes on the shock absorber habit: softening bad news on the way down, scrubbing complaints on the way up and quietly doing all the extra work yourself. The panel shares what they got wrong coming up, why sanitized feedback blows up eventually and the questions to ask before you execute any mandate. If you lead from the middle, this one's for you.
Caught in the Middle and Taking Every Hit
You didn't make the decision. You still have to sell it. Your team wants you to fight for them, your boss wants it done by Friday, and somehow you're supposed to keep everyone's trust. Welcome to middle management. This week the panel digs into the most squeezed seat in any organization and asks a blunt question: are you leading through the pressure, or just soaking it up?

The Human Shock Absorber
The pattern is familiar. Leadership hands down something unpopular. The manager softens it for the team. The team complains. The manager cleans up the complaints before carrying them back upstairs. Repeat until the manager is a human bumper pad. Recent surveys of U.S. middle managers put numbers on it: 63% call balancing team needs against senior leadership's expectations a major source of pressure, and 56% struggle to keep morale up through uncertainty. With AI, the economy and world events all piling on, that squeeze isn't letting up.

Sanitized Feedback Is a Powder Keg
Protecting your team is good. Hiding reality from them is not. The panel agrees that managers get into real trouble when they bury the boss's urgency ("he's just having a bad day") or water down the team's frustration ("they're a little miffed"). Scrub everything and the organization turns into a greeting card where nobody's honest. Then the staff walks out and leadership says the most expensive words in business: "I didn't know."

The "I'll Just Handle It" Trap
Half of managers (52%) cope with rising demands by taking on the extra work themselves. The panel has been there, and the verdict is clear: it doesn't work. Doing it all yourself builds dependency on you and stops you from leading anyone. The conversation also takes on a harder question. Who does your loyalty belong to? The organization you work for, or the people you manage? Getting that answer straight takes a surprising amount of stress off the table, even though the relationships with your people still matter.

Ask Before You Execute
When a mandate lands, don't just salute and scramble. Go back up and ask: What outcome are you after? How was this decided? Help me understand it so I can lead it with credibility. The panel points to a grocery chain that recently rolled out a uniform policy by edict with no explanation of why it helps employees. The result? Read Reddit. It's brutal.

The Bottom Line
Stop being the shock absorber and become the translator. Tell the truth in both directions and move pressure to the place where it can get solved. Build coaching skills so you can ask better questions up and down the chain and hold up a mirror so everyone sees what's real. And be a team in the literal sense: have each other's backs, check in and communicate clearly. Middle management is hard. It doesn't have to crush you.

Tune in for

Stuck in the middle? Fine. Just quit acting like a sponge.


Have questions,  suggestions or just a great story to tell about some Leadership BS you have experienced? Let us know by emailing us 

Today's Featured Coach - 

  • Jeffrey Geier - Motivational Speaker, Trainer, and Coach - Helping You Win in Work & Life  Owner/Founder of Phoenix Coaching LLC Reach Jeffrey at Jeff@PhoenixCoachingLLC.com or 509-553-9248

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