Too Senior for Tactics, Too Junior for Strategy

You know the feeling. You're in a meeting where the execs are hashing out strategy. You have ideas—good ones—but you’re not in the inner circle. You’ve been brought in “to help” with the change, to get it done, to “make it land.” You ask yourself, Am I supposed to be leading this, or just translating it?

Then the next hour, you’re with a frontline team reviewing cutover logistics and user support comms. They’re looking to you for every detail. You know just enough to keep it moving, but you don’t control the upstream decisions that caused the confusion in the first place.

You’re not the decision-maker.
You’re not the executor.
You’re the glue.

The Liminal Role We Don’t Talk About

Consultants, embedded change managers, business partners—we often live in this middle tier. We’re hired for our judgment but not trusted with authority. We’re expected to execute flawlessly, but not invited to influence direction.

We’re senior enough to spot flaws in the approach, the messaging, or the metrics. But too “junior” to override the sponsor or question the SVP. The end result? We spend our days fixing upstream mistakes with downstream hustle.

This in-between space is real. It’s also exhausting.

Why This Happens

A few structural reasons contribute:

• Project orgs flatten everyone not on the core leadership team. You’re either a “workstream lead” or “the business.”
• Consultants and support functions are treated as tactical—even when strategic. You’re seen as a doer until proven otherwise (and even then…).
• Org hierarchies reward positional power, not advisory influence. Your seat at the table isn’t guaranteed, even if your work is central to success.

What You Can Do From the Middle

You don’t need a new title to work with more influence. But you do need new framing. Try this:

• Signal up, translate down. Turn noise into insight for leaders; turn strategy into relevance for end users.
• Design leverage into your work. Build reusable frameworks, rituals, and cadences that scale even when you’re not in the room.
• Be explicit about the value you’re adding. Especially when you’re bridging across levels, functions, or misunderstandings. Say it out loud.
• Find your sponsors—plural. Your “boss” might not be the only leader who benefits from your work. Don’t silo your value.

It's a Hard Seat. But It’s a Real One.

This middle seat may not be glamorous, but it’s essential. You’re not imagining the weirdness of the role. You’re navigating the fault line between vision and execution—and that terrain is messy.

But here’s the thing: the people who learn to thrive in this spot? They become indispensable. Not just for what they do—but for what they see.

Final Thought

If you’ve ever left a meeting thinking, “I’m the only one who connected those dots,” you’re not alone. That moment? That’s your value.

Working from the middle means holding a vantage point that few others have. You see how decisions ripple outward. You catch misalignments early. You act as translator, amplifier, shield, and fixer—often in the same week. And while that role can feel invisible, it’s anything but. The best middle-seat operators are the reason things don’t fall apart.

So no, you’re not crazy. You’re not underqualified. You’re just in a seat no one designed but everyone relies on. Learn to navigate that space with confidence, with boundaries, and with clarity—and you’ll become the kind of leader who doesn’t need a title to matter.

ChangeGuild: Power to the Practitioner™

Related Reading

If you enjoyed this article, you might also find these helpful:

The Real Reason Change Succeeds? Politics.

Change moves through trust, power, and access- not just plans. Learn to navigate the politics that shape outcomes.

ChangeGuildDan Olson

Speak the Language of Revenue as a Change Leader

Translate your change management impact into business outcomes that matter to executives and decision-makers.

ChangeGuildDan Olson

Spoon-Feeding Your Sponsors

Change sponsors are your most critical asset - but they often need guidance to lead effectively. Discover how to spoon-feed your sponsors with the right information, using the E/M/R approach to ensure they express, model, and reinforce change effectively.

ChangeGuildDan Olson