Global HR analyst Josh Bersin recently said, “In 25 years, I have never seen such low levels of investment and maturity in leadership development.”

That’s disappointing news for millions of middle managers worldwide—especially when research by Gartner tells us that middle-management responsibilities have recently doubled compared to those of individual contributors. Yet investment is still disproportionately sent toward the top and bottom of the leadership ladder, leaving those in the middle dangerously unsupported, according to management consulting company Development Dimensions International. Another study found that managers are twice as likely to be looking for new jobs as nonmanagerial employees.

As Fast Company’s Julia Herbst wrote recently, “No one wants to be a middle manager anymore.”

Managers are “getting crushed,” said Liz Fosslien, head of communications and content at human resources company Humu

Middle managers are senior enough to know the ropes, yet junior enough to be out of the loop. These managers are fending for themselves, expected to navigate return-to-work catfights yet build a psychologically secure and inclusive workplace despite laying people off at the same time.

So why are so many leaders determined to invest less in middle managers?

If you’re a C-suite leader, don’t turn away. There are many opportunities to develop your middle managers without spending a penny.

And if you’re a middle manager, take heart. You don’t need to learn new skills; in fact, most middle managers already have a robust tool kit. At this stage in your career, I recommend that you work on your mindset rather than your skill set.

Here are five shifts leaders—and middle managers themselves—can make to address the middle-manager crisis.

CONTROL THE PACE OF WORK

Many middle managers might say they are pretty good at controlling the pace of work—brandishing their impressive to-do lists and kanban boards as evidence. But productivity is not about doing more stuff, it’s about doing the most impactful stuff. Rather than boasting a to-do list that’s a mile long, dominated by relatively simple stuff, an effective B-suite leader’s to-do list is short, encompassing only the difficult stuff. That’s because they delegate the easy stuff instead of holding it close like a comfort blanket.

Doing easy things may make us feel good and useful. But it’s the difficult stuff that delivers value—and that’s work that only you can do. Let the busy stuff go. Drive the important stuff yourself. No one else will.

MAKE SURE MIDDLE MANAGERS ARE INTENTIONAL LEADERS

Next, middle managers should decide whether they really want to be in this role. If you’re a middle manager, ask yourself: Am I a leader by accident or on purpose?

Take a good, hard look in the mirror. Do you actually want to be a middle manager? If your answer is no, you’re not alone. Do you feel motivated by leadership? Worthy of followership? Inspired to influence others to greatness? Or did you get into leadership because you liked the idea of having greater power, confidence, and reputation? If your answer is yes, you’re also not alone.

As leadership styles shift from the overly dominant boss of the 1980s to the servant leader of today, the disconnection between leadership expectations and reality is widening, and lots of high performers fall into leadership without questioning whether they actually want what it entails. I believe this is why one in five managers would prefer not to be a leader if given the choice.

Make sure you really want to be a middle manager. If you don’t, then don’t be a victim of your own success, trapped in a job you don’t love. If you do really want it, then be a leader on purpose, and lead.

GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT

“Everything is a priority” means you aren’t prioritizing. Priorities are relative, so rank them. Get some help from your leader on this, and get their advice on managing the expectations of stakeholders who are not your top priorities.

Assuming that your job is to say yes to every request and get it done somehow is an order-taker’s mindset. Order takers lead teams who are burning out and failing to impress at the same time. I’m not saying become a “no-man,” but do stop being a “yes-man” or “yes-woman.” Communicate your constraints and negotiate a reasonable compromise.

Be an impact maker, not an order taker.

UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF INFLUENCE

What many middle managers do not realize is that influencing others is the most important part of the job. As a middle manager, you have to influence in all directions, all the time. You influence your team to perform, your peers to collaborate, your leaders to decide. You even influence the market to like you. Your influence is like a lighthouse, flashing a bright beam to each audience in turn.

The problem is, most middle managers have a broken lighthouse—85% focused on their team, 10% on their peers, and about 5% on everyone else. All that attention puts pressure on your people to deliver despite the environment around them. So try to spend an equal amount of time removing roadblocks, raising your middle managers’ reputation, and making other people “play nice” with them.

LET THINGS GO

Most middle managers spend their careers adjusting to no longer being individual contributors. They love being the go-to person, the smartest person in the room, and they struggle to let go of what got them to where they are in their career today. Yet the very habits that were the secret of their success before leadership may now be their Achilles’ heel.

Here are a few scenarios middle managers should consider to gauge whether they feel empowered to succeed:

●  If you still need to be the expert, this probably means you’re not happy to have to develop and grow others. In other words, you still crave the limelight.

●  Test your relationship with the work. Are you still task oriented? Or are you influence and outcome oriented?

●  What is your relationship with failure? Are you actively flagging and managing it, or are you telling people everything is awesome, even when it isn’t?

●  Lastly, what is your care factor? Are you “all in” all the time? Can you pick your battles, or do you sweat the small stuff?

I’m not saying you should get careless. I’m suggesting you care less and focus more.

By focusing on mindset over skill set, and mastering these five shifts, middle managers can advance their own professional development and truly become B-suite leaders with C-suite impact.