Why do middle managers distrust their bosses?

Only a third of middle managers say they fully trust their senior leaders; however, 72% of senior leaders believe they’re highly trusted.

These incongruities were found in ‘The Middle Manager Lifeline’ report by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Top Banana, which also found that four in five middle managers believe staff lack full trust in their CEO.

This distrust could potentially hinder business growth, with 85% of business leaders and managers agreeing that trust is critical to business performance. The report also found fast-growing organisations are four-and-a-half times more likely to report a high degree of trust between middle and senior management.

Perhaps reflecting a communication breakdown, only 37% agree that their leadership team is transparent and only 31% of managers are ‘very confident’ in communicating company guidance and strategy to their teams.