Middle managers get blamed for everything, yet we keep setting them up to fail.

Kieran Gilmurray and Laura Lawless promote smart, capable people into leadership roles, then pile on performance management, feedback, meetings, reporting, and “just one more responsibility” without ever teaching the fundamentals or redesigning the job. No wonder even experienced managers admit they avoid the hard conversations until they absolutely have to.

TL;DR / At a Glance

why capable managers avoid performance and feedback conversations
defining what a manager is responsible for now
reframing “soft skills” as operating skills that make work work
why “better communication” often means clearer thinking and decisions
AI changing the value of writing versus judgement
moving from one-off workshops to practice loops and habits
HR shifting from process owner to capability builder
the time problem and the case for slowing down to speed up
strategic subtraction using technology to remove low-value work
three practical takeaways for leaders and HR teams

Kieran Gilmurray and Laura Lawless unpack what a manager is actually for today: getting work done through other people, developing the team, and removing obstacles rather than being the hero-doer.

From there, they dig into the skills that really move performance, engagement and retention. “Better communication” sounds obvious, but we challenge it: more messages do not fix unclear priorities, vague decisions, or inconsistent expectations.

As generative AI starts drafting emails and feedback, the human edge becomes clearer thinking, sound judgement, and the courage to be direct.

Then Kieran Gilmurray and Laura Lawless get practical about leadership development and HR transformation. They argue for replacing tick-box training with operating standards for meetings, feedback and decision making, plus simple practice loops that build habits in real work. Kieran Gilmurray and Laura Lawless also debate time, coaching culture, and strategic subtraction: if AI can do the admin, managers should not be doing it, and HR should stop being the fixer and start building capability across the business.

If you know the pain of meeting overload and constant “more”, this conversation will help you see what to remove, what to standardise, and what to practise so managers can lead well again.

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📕 Want to learn more about agentic AI then read my new book on Agentic AI and the Future of Work https://tinyurl.com/MyBooksOnAmazonUK