In the early stages of a company, Founder CEOs are closer to peers than bosses. Everyone is working around the clock to make the business work. Relationships are often personal and somewhat informal.

In our previous blog, we discussed three of the common challenges new leaders face: (1) Communicating with your team in a way that boosts engagement and productivity; (2) Delegating effectively; (3) Managing your time. In this blog, we are continuing our conversation.

We Over the past two years, I have seen a dramatic rise in the number of middle managers seeking coaching because they are overwhelmed and uncertain of how to effectively manage their teams. They are putting pressure on themselves, but they are also feeling dissatisfaction from their team and their senior leaders.

We all remember that old game of “Telephone” or “Pass It Down.” You whisper a phrase to the person next to you, they pass it on, and by the time it reaches the end of the line, “Three Blind Mice” has transformed into “Freeze, Pine, Rice.” The changes are amusing. Now imagine playing that game with your team’s goals and objectives. It’s not nearly as amusing, and could cost you both significant time and money.

As companies grow and scale, injecting accountability structures into the culture becomes critical. As Peter Drucker famously said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Currently, two of the most popular goal setting frameworks are John Doerr’s Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) method and Gino Wickman’s Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).

One of the hot topics of 2023 in boardrooms and around leadership tables continues to be remote work. The pandemic is over, but companies are still struggling to attract their talent back to the office full time. I am often asked about the state of remote work and when this trend will end. (Spoiler alert: it will not.)

Hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours are spent worldwide on leadership development. Yet, study after study shows that most leadership programs don’t result in any meaningful improvement long term.

Where’s the disconnect?

In the world of coaching and development, middle managers are gaining more attention. While executives and senior leaders often receive coaching, it's crucial to invest in the growth of middle managers too.

Sharpening your focus seems obvious enough, but when your company has multiple opportunities and a host of growth-related challenges it can be hard to do. Plus, how you go about sharpening your focus changes at each stage of a company’s growth.

We have all been swept up in a tsunami of change that hit us hard and fast and has left us disoriented, exhausted, and with miles and miles to swim before we’re back on dry land. As we look to the horizon and plot our course, we can expect to navigate this crisis in three phases.