Middle managers often share with me a feeling of not fully belonging in their organizations, and the sense of isolation that can follow.

Not quite belonging upward, where decisions are shaped in a circle that can feel slightly exclusive.
Not belonging with peers, where different roles create distance while similar roles breed competition.
No longer belonging downward, where camaraderie once felt easy.

Relied on, but rarely held.
Over time, this in-between space can feel isolating.

What if this is an invitation into a broader sense of belonging
– an awareness of, and a capacity to create, other bonds
that don’t rely on position or permission,
that stay with you across and beyond roles.

A return to yourself,
to where your heart knows home
and where it can nest anew.
Upward, the stars at night from your window.
Sideways, your dear relationships, a tree you pass by every day.
Downward, the ground beneath your feet.
Alive, at this moment, on this Earth, where you belong.

From there, work begins to feel less isolating.
Perspective softens as connections widen inwardly.
Belonging comes from feeling at home in your own experience.
And the middle becomes a place you inhabit with steady groundedness and openness.


📚 This post is Part 5 of my series:
Leading from the Middle and from Within
– when the tension of middle managers can become their path to inner mastery.

#MiddleManagement #ConsciousLeadership
#LeadershipLoneliness #Belonging
#WellbeingAtWork #BurnoutPrevention