The ‘missing middle’ leaves organisations lacking at the top

Tuesday 24 June 2025

By Laura Dowie, Director of Timely Careers, part of The WiB Group. Featured in The Irish News.

Women in their 30s, 40s and 50s - often mid-career and mid-life - are the backbone of many organisations.

Yet despite their central role, this group frequently finds itself caught in a professional limbo: too experienced for early-career initiatives, too junior for executive leadership roles, and ultimately, too time-poor to access essential training and development opportunities, leaving would-be leaders undervalued, under-appreciated, and under stress.

From the outside looking in, middle management is perceived as too stressful and not worthy of the extra demands placed upon work-life balance. Particularly by younger members of the team.

According to a recent Financial Times poll, 70% of Gen Z employees have written off a middle manager role altogether, branding it a ‘thankless slog’.

Part of this comes down to a lack of training and mentoring for those senior employees on the cusp of management. In fact, a stark finding within the CMI’s Taking Responsibility report published this year was that 82% of managers who take up the position do so ‘accidentally’. Without any formal leadership training.

Perhaps these individuals are promoted based on their capability, or their own popularity among the team. Or perhaps the timing’s right and they just happen to be available to take charge instead of displaying leadership readiness.

Thrust into the driver’s seat without a thorough understanding of not just the nuts and bolts, but the nuances of team dynamic, individual wellbeing, interpersonal skills, deployment, productivity, compliance, and so much more.

The result? A core component of the business machine operating out of sync. Which invariably leads to a team dispirited and ultimately a higher turnover. Middle managers ought to be empowered, not endangered.

This challenge is especially acute for women. The so-called ‘missing middle’ is a well-known gap in gender representation, where many women stall in their careers due to a lack of targeted support, mentoring, and flexible development opportunities.

In Northern Ireland, where gender disparities in leadership persist across sectors, the impact is even more pronounced.

And yet, this is also a moment of opportunity. We know from experience that when mid-career women are given space to reconnect with their ambitions - through focused, relevant, and confidence-building training - the results ripple far beyond individual careers. Teams thrive, businesses benefit, and the talent pipeline strengthens.

At the Centre of Learning we are delivering focused female-oriented training and leadership development that is both bite-sized and catered around those women who know full well the feeling of being time-poor.

Delivered by industry-leading practitioners, our suite of bespoke and targeted courses, connections and insights aim to re-energise, upskill, and empower women who are ready to step forward, but need the right support to do so.

From a team perspective, this is not just a nice to have, but fundamentally good for business.

Investing in women in the middle isn’t about ticking a diversity box, either; it’s a smart strategy for long-term growth and resilience.

It’s time we stop overlooking this vital layer of talent and instead start equipping it to lead with confidence and connection.

Tuesday 24 June 2025