unSeminary Podcast The Leadership Balancing Act: Building Trust as a Middle Manager in a Large Church with Diana Rush
Mar 20, 2025
Diana Rush, the Senior Director of Build Community at Eastside Christian Church, shares her expertise on navigating the complexities of middle management in large church settings. She discusses the critical balance between communicating effectively with senior leadership and supporting direct reports. Diana emphasizes the importance of self-awareness in leadership and building trust through reliability and transparency. She also addresses the challenges of fostering a supportive culture while managing team dynamics and streamlining operations across multiple campuses.
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Pressure in Middle Management
- Middle managers face pressure from leadership and direct reports, like an orange squeezed from both ends.
- If you don't address your struggles, they will affect your team when you're "squeezed".
Building Trust
- Build trust with senior leadership and your team to ease tension.
- Be bold and ask questions, advocate for your team, and translate vision effectively.
The Sales Role of Middle Management
- Middle managers filter information between senior leadership and direct reports.
- This "selling" can break trust if not handled carefully.