Dear middle manager, what are you actually allowed to stop doing?

Dear middle manager, what are you actually allowed to stop doing?
I've sat in countless transformation meetings where everyone was incredibly excited about what we were going to START doing.

New systems.
New processes.
New ways of working.
New KPIs.
New expectations.

Wonderful.

But there was one question that rarely made it onto the agenda.

What are we going to STOP doing?

Because somewhere in the middle of all those ambitious plans sits a manager with a team that's already running at full capacity.

And somehow, they're expected to make it all work.
Sound familiar?

Happy Friday! Here's a little exercise for your next team meeting.
Take 15 minutes. Three questions.
🛑 STOP: What are we doing that no longer serves our priorities?
🚀 START: What do we need to do differently to make this change work?
❤️ CONTINUE: What is already working that we absolutely shouldn't lose?

But here's the catch.
Don't turn this into another list of things for your team to fix.

Take the answers back to your sponsor or leadership team.
Ask what can genuinely be stopped, simplified or deprioritized.
And ask them to make choices with you.
Because adding new expectations to an already full plate isn't transformation.
It's overload with a prettier PowerPoint.
And middle managers deserve better than that.

Want to create some breathing room and practical clarity?
I'm hosting Leading Change from the Middle, a 90-minute interactive online session.
📅 12 November | 10:00–11:30 CET
📅 19 November | 15:00–16:30 CET
€149 per participant.
Prefer to have this conversation with your own team? You can also book an exclusive session for 6–12 participants.
Same practical approach. Your team's reality.
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eQFvm9qc
#MiddleManagement #Leadership #OrganizationalChange #ALIVE