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Throughout this four post series, I’ve explored the hidden costs of cutting middle management – from psychological toll to trust erosion.

Today, I want to paint a picture of what’s possible when managers embrace a fundamentally different way of operating.

The transformation isn’t just about managing larger spans of control. It’s about evolving from compliance officer to culture weaver.

? Two Different Directions

The difference is profound and directional.

? Compliance Officers are task-oriented, focused upward in the hierarchy. Their energy goes toward ticking boxes, meeting expectations from above, ensuring processes are followed and reports are submitted. They manage to satisfy their superiors.

? Culture Weavers are environment-oriented, focused outward and downward toward their people. Their energy goes toward creating conditions where those who report to them can thrive and do their best work. They lead to unleash potential.

One direction creates bureaucracy. The other creates possibility.

? Conversations Create Culture

As Carl Weick observed: “You change a culture by changing the conversation.” We become what we talk about.

This insight sits at the heart of the transformation from compliance officer to culture weaver. It’s a complete reorientation of the kinds of conversations managers have, especially with the people reporting to them.

Are your conversations about:

• Ticking boxes and micromanaging to-do lists?
• OR what people need in order to flourish?

The difference isn’t subtle – it’s transformational.

? What People Actually Need

When managers start asking “What do you need to flourish?” instead of “Did you complete your tasks?” something remarkable happens.

Two fundamental human needs emerge that were invisible in compliance-focused conversations:

? Validation – People need to be seen, recognised, and accepted for who they are. Not judged against some idealised template, but genuinely acknowledged as unique individuals with distinct strengths and perspectives.

? Constructive Feedback – Nobody wants criticism, but everybody craves genuine feedback. The ability to help people see what they could do differently to get better results or different outcomes is one of the most valuable gifts a manager can offer.

These aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re the foundation of human engagement and growth.

? The Weaving Process

Culture weaving happens in the micro-moments:

• In the quality of presence you bring to conversations
• In choosing curiosity over judgement
• In asking “How can I help you succeed?” rather than “Why didn’t you finish this?”

It’s about seeing your role as creating the conditions where people can do their best work, rather than ensuring they conform to predetermined processes.

Culture weavers understand that their primary job isn’t task management – it’s environment creation.

?? The Paradox of Control

Here’s the beautiful paradox: by letting go of compliance-focused control, culture weavers actually gain more influence over outcomes.

When you focus on creating conditions for people to thrive, they become more engaged, more creative, more committed to excellence.

The larger spans of control that seemed impossible for compliance officers become manageable for culture weavers. Why? Because you’re not trying to control everything – you’re creating an environment where people control themselves.

? From Constraint to Catalyst

This series started with the observation that cutting middle management creates relationship deficits that erode trust and meaning. But it doesn’t have to end there.

When managers evolve from compliance officers to culture weavers, larger spans become opportunities to build cultures of genuine engagement and performance. The constraint becomes the catalyst for a better way of leading.

The managers who make this transition don’t just survive organisational restructuring – they transform it into something more human, more meaningful, and ultimately more effective.

The conversation you have tomorrow with someone on your team is a choice: compliance check or culture weaving. What will you choose?

How are you shifting from compliance officer to culture weaver in your leadership role?

This concludes our series on the hidden costs of cutting middle management. Thank you for joining this exploration of more human-centred approaches to leadership and organisational design.

#Leadership #CultureWeaver #Management #WorkplaceCulture #HumanCentredLeadership #OrganisationalDevelopment #PeopleFirst

There’s a moment that happens in every traditional office—you’re rushing to a meeting, someone catches your eye in the corridor, and suddenly you’re having the conversation that changes everything. Perhaps it’s learning about a colleague’s hidden expertise, discovering a shared challenge, or simply seeing them laugh at something absurd. These fleeting encounters, so unremarkable we rarely remember them, form the invisible architecture of workplace relationships.

Digital work has fundamentally altered this landscape. Traditional relationship building relies heavily on unplanned moments—the corridor conversation, the shared lift journey, the spontaneous coffee. These “weak tie” interactions, as sociologist Mark Granovetter termed them, actually strengthen workplace bonds more than we realise. Yet digital work strips them away entirely. Everything becomes scheduled and purposeful, losing the organic quality that builds genuine connection.

The result isn’t just loneliness—it’s a fundamental shift in how relationships form and deepen. When every interaction requires a calendar invitation, we unconsciously begin rationing our social investment. We stick to our immediate team, our essential contacts, our scheduled touchpoints. The peripheral relationships that drive innovation, opportunity, and organisational resilience quietly wither.

But here lies both the challenge and the opportunity: if spontaneous connection was the foundation of traditional workplace relationships, what becomes the foundation in a digital world?

The Art of the Asynchronous Relationship

Perhaps our biggest misconception is that connection requires real-time interaction. The digital environment offers something traditional offices never could: the ability to build relationships across time and space through thoughtful, considered exchange.

Consider the power of a voice message that captures not just information but tone, personality, and care. Or collaborative documents where personal commentary reveals thinking patterns and values. These asynchronous touchpoints allow for a different kind of intimacy—one where people can share more authentically because they have time to reflect, where introverts can participate more fully, where working parents can engage outside traditional hours.

The strongest digital relationships often develop through these layered, time-shifted interactions that build understanding incrementally rather than through the binary of meeting or not meeting.

Reframing Transactional Touch Points

Every work interaction contains relationship-building potential if we know how to recognise and activate it. The routine email, the project update, the quick Teams call—each represents a choice between purely transactional efficiency and human connection.

This isn’t about making everything longer or more complex. It’s about recognising that how we handle these everyday moments shapes the quality of our working relationships. The colleague who asks “How’s your week shaping up?” before diving into project details. The manager who notices energy levels during check-ins. The team member who shares a genuine reaction to someone’s idea rather than simply moving to the next agenda item.

These micro-investments in connection don’t require additional time—they require additional intention. And their cumulative impact on relationship quality is profound.

Intentional Informality

Perhaps the most significant shift required is accepting that casual doesn’t happen naturally online—it must be deliberately created. Since serendipity doesn’t emerge organically in digital spaces, we must engineer opportunities for the human moments that build trust and understanding.

This might mean starting meetings by actually asking how people are and leaving space for real answers. It could involve creating dedicated “non-work” digital spaces where teams can share what they’re reading, what they’re struggling with, or what made them laugh that week. Most importantly, it means embracing rather than apologising for the domestic interruptions that give us glimpses into each other’s full humanity.

The death of serendipity in digital work isn’t a problem to solve—it’s a reality to adapt to. The organisations that thrive won’t be those trying to recreate the past, but those bold enough to pioneer new forms of human connection that work within our digital present.

The question isn’t whether we can build meaningful relationships through screens. We already are. The question is whether we’re doing it intentionally enough to create the kind of workplace relationships that sustain us, inspire us, and help us do our best work together.

What moments of unexpected connection have shaped your own career? And what might intentional relationship building look like in your current digital environment?

In my previous posts, I’ve explored the hidden costs of cutting middle management and the psychological toll of wider spans of control.

Today I want to dig into something that’s both the problem and the solution: the relational load that modern leaders carry.

? Relationship Quality as a Matter of Luck

Here’s what I observe time and again: most managers treat relationship quality as something secondary, something left entirely to chance.

“Sometimes you’re lucky and get people you click with. Most times you’re not so lucky and you don’t get on. That’s just life.”

There’s no awareness that they could actually take responsibility for the quality of these relationships. No understanding of how profoundly relationship quality influences the meaningfulness and effectiveness of work itself.

They’re managing as if relationships are fixed, predetermined by personality compatibility rather than something that can be intentionally cultivated and improved.

? The Liberating (and Terrifying) Realisation

What emerges repeatedly in coaching sessions – often in follow-up emails filled with excitement – is this profound AHA moment:

“I am the solution.”

It’s both liberating and overwhelming. Liberating because suddenly they have agency where they felt powerless. Terrifying because now they’re responsible for something they’ve never been taught how to do.

But here’s what’s beautiful: once that realisation hits, they become intensely curious about what they need to do differently. This is where real transformation begins.

? There’s No Universal Playbook

The challenge is that relationship building can’t be reduced to a checklist of “10 things every manager should do.” It’s deeply individual. Each person needs to develop their own authentic way of approaching this.

Extroverts often have an easier time initially – they’re naturally comfortable with interpersonal connection. But they frequently fall into the trap of being superficial, mistaking charm for depth.

Introverts typically struggle at first, but once they understand what’s needed, they develop much more profound relationships. Why? Because they’ve been programmed to think they need to be like extroverts – loud, charismatic, leading from the front.

? Leadership from Behind

But that’s not true. Introverts can absolutely be their introverted selves and build extraordinary relationships. They just need to find ways that make their introversion work for them:

• One-on-one conversations
• Deep listening
• Thoughtful follow-up
• Creating space for others to shine

There’s no need to stand on a soapbox and shout.

Some of the most powerful leadership happens from behind – quietly influencing, deeply connecting, creating conditions where others thrive.

? The Analytical Manager’s Breakthrough

Then there’s perhaps the most common case I encounter: the analytical manager who believes emotions don’t belong in the workplace, that they themselves aren’t subject to emotions, or they simply can’t understand why other people need to express feelings at work.

The breakthrough moment comes when they realise that emotions aren’t unprofessional interference – they’re fundamental data about human motivation, engagement, and performance.

Including their own.

?? The Real Load

The relational load of modern leadership isn’t just about managing more relationships. It’s about taking active ownership of relationship quality and recognising that how you connect with your people directly determines their engagement, growth, and performance.

It’s about shifting from “we just don’t get on” to “how can I make this relationship work better?”

That’s both a heavier load and a lighter one.

Heavier because you’re now responsible for something you used to leave to chance.

Lighter because you finally have agency over one of the most crucial aspects of your effectiveness as a leader.

When managers make this shift, something remarkable happens: they don’t just cope with larger spans of control – they transform them into networks of meaningful connection.

How do you take ownership of relationship quality in your leadership role?

Next week: How trust erodes invisibly – and what repair actually looks like.

#Leadership #Management #Relationships #WorkplaceCulture #PeopleManagement

Last week I wrote about the hidden costs of cutting middle management. Today I want to explore something deeper – the psychological toll this takes on everyone involved.

This crisis has a Janus face. It looks both ways, affecting managers and team members simultaneously, eroding something fundamental to human wellbeing at work: meaning.

? The Meaning Drain

For employees: They derive enormous meaning from their relationship with their supervisor. It’s where they find recognition, growth, support, and belonging. When that relationship becomes distant or transactional due to impossible spans of control, a crucial source of workplace meaning evaporates.

For managers: They derive deep job satisfaction from being genuinely helpful, from developing their people, from being seen as a “good” manager. When they’re spread so thin they can barely remember everyone’s names, let alone support their growth, their own sense of purpose crumbles.

They go from meaningful to meaningless.

What does meaninglessness feel like? That hollow, energy-draining sensation where work becomes a grind rather than a contribution. Where you feel invisible, replaceable, disconnected.

Meaninglessness doesn’t just affect productivity – it literally sucks the life force from people. And if left unchecked, it’s a straight path to burnout or depression.

? The Early Warning Signs We Miss

Here’s what breaks my heart: the early indicators are subtle, and by the time leaders notice someone is “struggling,” the psychological damage is often already done.

Watch for:

• The shift in energy – Playfulness erodes first. That lightness people bring to their work simply vanishes, replaced by a heavy, laboured quality. You can feel it in the room.
• Body language changes – Shoulders that carry invisible weight. Eyes that have lost their spark. The subtle withdrawal that says “I’m here but I’m not really here.”
• Drama triangles – People unconsciously creating victim-persecutor-rescuer dynamics because they’re desperately trying to generate some sense of agency or connection, even if it’s dysfunctional.
• Pervasive powerlessness – A sense that settles over teams like fog.

These aren’t performance issues. They’re human beings responding to an environment where their fundamental psychological needs for connection and meaning aren’t being met.

? The Cost of Catching It Late

The tragedy is that leaders often pride themselves on spotting these problems, but what they’re actually seeing is the end stage of a long erosion process.

They notice the disengagement, the decreased output, the attitude problems – but these are symptoms of months of slowly declining psychological safety and meaning.

By then, rebuilding trust and re-establishing meaning becomes exponentially harder. People don’t bounce back from psychological disconnection as easily as we’d like to believe.

?? The Path Forward

Here’s the thing: larger spans of control aren’t inherently wrong. I understand the business rationale – the economics make sense, and in many cases, it’s necessary.

But these structures can only work if managers fundamentally shift how they operate.

The challenge is that most managers have been brought up to focus on:

• Task execution
• Oversight
• Operational delivery

Now they need to transition to a completely different way of working – one centred on:

• Relationship building
• Empowerment
• Creating conditions for others to thrive

This isn’t a skill they can develop overnight or figure out alone. Someone needs to actively help them make this transition.

Because when managers learn to work relationally rather than operationally, larger spans don’t just become manageable – they become transformational.

? The Bottom Line

If we’re going to make these new organisational structures work, we need to become exquisitely attuned to these early psychological warning signs and actively support managers in becoming the relationship builders their expanded teams desperately need.

What early warning signs have you noticed when teams start to lose psychological connection?

Next week: How trust erodes invisibly – and what repair actually looks like.

#Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #Management #WorkplaceMeaning #MentalHealthAtWork #SpanOfControl #HumanCentredLeadership

I keep reading about companies slashing middle management roles to cut costs and accommodate AI implementation. Fewer managers, larger spans of control, improved efficiency – it sounds logical on paper.

But there’s a relationship crisis hiding in these spreadsheets.

? When Trust Starts to Erode

When managers suddenly find themselves responsible for 15-20 people instead of 6-8, something critical gets lost.

Using David Maister’s trust equation as a lens, two elements immediately suffer:

• Intimacy drops – there’s simply less time for meaningful connection
• Perceived self-interest rises – managers appear more focused on keeping their heads above water than supporting their teams

Trust doesn’t collapse overnight – it seeps away slowly, often unnoticed until significant damage is done.

? The Engagement Cascade

The first casualty? Engagement.

We know from decades of research that your relationship with your immediate manager is the single biggest predictor of workplace engagement. When that relationship weakens, everything else follows:

• Decision-making slows
• Innovation stagnates
• High performance gradually slides into mediocrity

Meanwhile, the remaining managers find themselves drowning. They’re expected to do more with less, but nobody’s fundamentally changed what “management” means in this new reality.

? What Needs to Shift

Here’s what I believe needs to happen:

? First, micromanagement becomes impossible – and that’s actually brilliant.

With larger teams, managers have no choice but to embrace real empowerment. Not the lip-service version where we say “you’re empowered” but still expect approval for every decision. True empowerment where people are genuinely trusted to own their work.

? Second, remaining managers must dramatically reduce their task work.

Everything that can be delegated must be delegated. Their primary job becomes relationship building – creating the conditions where trust can flourish even with limited time.

? The Transformation

This isn’t about working harder; it’s about working fundamentally differently.

The manager’s role transforms:

• From task coordinator ? to culture creator
• From decision maker ? to capacity builder

? The Remarkable Discovery

The companies that recognise this will discover something remarkable: they don’t just maintain performance despite fewer managers – they often exceed it.

Because when you’re forced to trust people more deeply, to empower them more completely, to focus purely on the human elements that drive performance, magic tends to happen.

The question isn’t whether we can afford to maintain these relationships with fewer managers. It’s whether we can afford not to.

What shifts have you observed in management roles as organisational structures evolve?

#Leadership #MiddleManagement #Trust #Engagement #OrganisationalChange #ManagementEvolution #WorkplaceRelationships

I stumbled upon an interview with Canadian designer Bruce Mau today

Mau speaks about intentional life design rather than accepting what comes. This got me thinking: what if we applied this same philosophy to workplace relationships? We have two choices: take a fatalistic approach and let relationships develop randomly like “weeds in a flower bed,” or intentionally design them.

In most organisations, relationship quality is left to chance.  An afterthought rather than a priority. Yet these connections form the very ecosystem in which work happens, influencing everything from productivity to innovation to well-being.

Several of Mau’s design principles seem particularly relevant:

Process over product – What if we valued the ongoing journey of relationship development rather than viewing connections as something to “achieve” and then move on from?

Embracing uncertainty – Relationships evolve in ways we cannot predict. Designing doesn’t mean controlling but creating conditions for organic growth.

One small intervention can ripple through the entire system.

“Don’t be cool” – Authenticity trumps appearance. Professional relationships flourish when we bring our genuine selves rather than polished personas.

“Allow events to change you” – Being open to transformation through relationship experiences creates opportunities for both personal and organisational growth.

But how do we begin this relationship design process without making it feel forced?

Start simple: Connection before content.

One practical first step I’ve seen transform teams is implementing brief check-ins at the beginning of meetings. This small change signals that relationships matter – that we see each other as humans first, not just functional roles.

These moments create space for authentic connection before diving into tasks and deliverables. They’re not “soft” nice-to-haves but foundational elements of a deliberately designed system where relationships can flourish.

As Mau’s systems thinking reminds us, everything influences everything else. When we upgrade the quality of workplace relationships, we’re not just improving individual connections – we’re redesigning the entire ecosystem.

What one small step could you take this week to begin intentionally designing the relationships in your workplace ecosystem rather than letting them grow like weeds?

#LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #RelationshipDesign #BruceMau #SystemsThinking

I’ve been having more challenging conversations with my students lately that have forced me to reflect deeply on what we teach about leadership.

For years, I’ve advocated for relationship-centred approaches like the Service Profit Chain and Conscious Capitalism. Companies like Whole Foods, Container Store, and Southwest Airlines were the shining examples we pointed to.

But today’s students push back:

“That’s nice in theory, Mike, but in the real world, it’s the ruthless leaders who rise to the top. Look at Elon Musk.”

It’s a fair challenge. When Musk suggests that “empathy is the downfall of Western civilisation,” it directly contradicts Hannah Arendt’s view that “there is no civilisation without empathy.”

I think we’re framing the conversation incorrectly.

This isn’t about being “nice” versus “ruthless” – it’s about understanding that strong relationships create effective organisations. Even motorcycle gangs, hardly “nice” organisations, succeed through powerful relationship bonds and aligned purpose.

Perhaps what we’re witnessing in the massive push for remote work isn’t just about flexibility or convenience. Could it be that people are fleeing toxic workplace cultures? That they’re voting with their feet against environments where human connections have been devalued?

The companies once venerated for their people-first approaches may be struggling in today’s market, but I wonder about the long-term sustainability of organisations built on authoritarian leadership. Economic success achieved through fear and burnout isn’t success at all – it’s merely borrowed time.

Real leadership isn’t about being ruthlessly efficient or impossibly kind. It’s about creating environments where relationships matter, where collaboration thrives not despite but because of our human complexities.

In a world increasingly dominated by AI, algorithms, and automation, our uniquely human capacity for empathy and relationship-building isn’t a weakness – it’s our competitive advantage.

The pendulum always swings. Our job as leaders isn’t to follow it blindly but to find the timeless principles that transcend trends. And I believe that understanding the fundamental importance of human connection is one of those principles.

What are you seeing in your organisation? Has the definition of “successful leadership” changed? And more importantly, should it?

#LeadershipPhilosophy #OrganisationalCulture #ConsciousLeadership #WorkplaceCulture

Are you more of a thinker or a doer? 

The reason I ask is because a recent Swedish podcast made me aware of this distinction in a way I have not thought about before.

This research identifies what may be the most significant chasm in modern organisations: the gap between “thinkers” and “doers.”

Here’s what happens:

Top executives (the thinkers) focus primarily on the future—next quarter’s targets, new product development, strategic pivots. Meanwhile, middle managers and frontline staff (the doers) are immersed in present challenges and reflecting on recent experiences.

The result? A profound disconnect where:

• Executives wonder why their managers lack enthusiasm for new initiatives
• Middle managers feel unheard and undervalued when sharing operational insights
• The organisation moves slower than it could, despite everyone working harder

The researcher offered a counterintuitive insight that resonates deeply with me: If leaders want to move faster toward the future, they must first focus more on the past and present.

The doers will never get enthusiastic about doing ‘more’ if they feel that what they are already doing is not appreciated.

This reminds me of Peter Senge’s observation that “the longest distance in an organisation is between what management measures and what the front line actually does.”

Top athletes understand this instinctively. They obsessively analyse yesterday’s performance—how their shoes felt, their breathing pattern, their recovery time—all to improve tomorrow’s results. They know progress requires this reflective loop.

The bridge across this gap isn’t complicated, but it requires something increasingly rare: presence. When executives are mentally preoccupied with future plans, their reports don’t feel truly “seen.” The connection breaks.

The solution lies in the quality of conversations. Great leaders engage in genuine dialogue with their teams—not to deliver instructions but to listen with curiosity and respect. When frontline workers feel genuinely heard about their current challenges and achievements, they become exponentially more engaged with future initiatives.

The paradox is beautiful: By slowing down to understand where we are, we ultimately move forward faster.

What’s your experience with this gap? Have you seen organisations where thinkers and doers are successfully aligned?

#Leadership #OrganisationalDevelopment #ExecutivePresence #ManagementInsights