WORKPLACE MANIFESTO

If you're a middle manager right now, here's what you already know: you're responsible for everything, but you have the authority to change almost nothing. You're accountable for your team's performance, but you can't approve their budget requests. You're expected to retain top talent, but compensation decisions happen three levels above you. You're tasked with executing the strategy, but no one asked for your input when that strategy was created.

We've been sold a story about leadership that sounds inspiring but falls apart under pressure: that great leaders are born with it—charisma, presence, the ability to "command a room." The problem? This myth keeps organizations stuck. Here's what actually happens when we rely on personality over structure: projects stall because no one knows who makes the final call. Teams burn out because responsibility sits in one place while authority sits somewhere else. Culture erodes bec