Middle management is the loneliest role in any organization.

In this Dear Bossy episode, Adrienne and Emily respond to a listener who manages a tight-knit team of three, does all the invisible work of protecting them from above, advocates for their growth, and still ends up feeling like she's not really part of the group.

It's a more common feeling than most managers will admit.

What they cover:

• Why your team bonding without you is actually a sign you're doing something right, even when it doesn't feel that way
• The invisible work of middle management: shielding your team from pressure, advocating behind the scenes, handling problems before they land on anyone else's desk
• Why the middle is often the loneliest layer of any organization, and why that is by design, not failure
• The difference between needing community and needing your team to provide it
• Emily's honest take on being the only person in the middle and what she did to navigate it
• How to ask your organization for development, mentorship, or coaching and why your leadership is already spending money on exactly that
• Practical ways to close the connection gap: therapy, peer networks, lunch and learns, industry events, and what happens when you just introduce yourself to the person next to you
• A teaser for something Adrienne and Emily are building specifically for operators and middle managers who need their own community

Submit your own Dear Bossy question: sortabossypodcast.com

⏱️ Time Chapters
00:01 Periscope, Clubhouse, and the graveyard of dead platforms
04:15 Summer House, audiobooks, and brains with nothing left in them

09:55 The listener question: am I being unreasonable for feeling left out of my own team?

13:05 Your team bonding without you is actually the dream

14:01 The invisible work nobody sees and nobody thanks you for

15:07 Emily's take: the middle is the loneliest layer

17:54 Middle management is the most burned out role in any org

20:13 Ask for the development your leadership is already investing in themselves

22:07 Lunch and learns, industry events, and a little like dating

24:07 Stay tuned, something's coming for operators and middle managers