12 Exploring the invisible, emotional labor at the Messy Middle with Host, Meenakshi Iyer

12 Exploring the invisible, emotional labor at the Messy Middle with Host, Meenakshi Iyer

Exploring the invisible, emotional labor at the Messy Middle  In this special episode, I am revisiting my conversations with our 10 guests so far, specifically to zoom in on their responses to my question:   What is a piece of emotional or invisible labor that you carry as a middle manager that probably nobody else knows about?  Guests describe absorbing organizational ambiguity while projecting calm, holding confidential knowledge about downsizing or leadership changes, shielding teams from the demands of senior leadership, and managing difficult conversations about work-life balance and equitable pay. Others note coaching newly promoted managers who lack people-leadership scaffolding, providing psychological safety and morale in an AI-reshaped workplace, and sustaining empathy beyond work hours. Several emphasize constant translation between strategy and execution—aligning stakeholders, filtering noise, handling crises, and maintaining momentum—work that often goes unmeasured and unnoticed. All our guests help us realize that middle managers are the operating system of modern workplaces, turning chaos into direction and care into performance, and we need cultures that acknowledge this invisible labor, and strengthen the 'messy middle'. If you’re a middle manager, tell us what invisible labor you carry. Send a voice note, DM me on LinkedIn - your story deserves to be heard. Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/]  Learn more about NorthStar Solutions and Services LLC - https://www.northstaratwork.com/ [https://www.northstaratwork.com/]

11 Leading with Context, Credibility, and Humanity with Sahana Shenoy

Meet Sahana Shenoy, a highly competent Product Management and Technical Program Management Leader with nearly two decades of cross-functional leadership experience. Sahana has led large scale initiatives across e-commerce, supply chain, healthcare, among some of the industries, and she's overseen multi-billion-dollar portfolios and helped build platforms that are used by hundreds of millions of people globally. Top five takeaways from this remarkably insightful conversation: 1. People over Process. Sahana shares how a team that hadn’t shipped code for a year wasn’t suffering from a technical gap but a trust breakdown: “The team had slowly… stopped trusting each other… conversations had become more about defending positions than solving larger organizational problems.” She rebuilt trust first—then delivery automatically followed! 2. Small actions make a big difference. Her leadership shift came from showing up repeatedly and reliably: "Being present when there is a problem, being there for your team, showing up consistently and, making sure you're inclusive consistently. All of these small consistent actions actually made the difference..." 3. Expect high standards, but with humanity. Her identity and caregiving experiences expanded her leadership lens: “Best leaders today… are a combination of high standards with humanity.” Ask before assuming. Context matters. 4. Making rationale travel as fast as the decisions they support. Global teams often receive decisions without the “why”: “Decisions travel pretty quickly… but the rationale… doesn’t travel along with it.” Middle managers carry the invisible labor of translating in both directions...." 5. Using AI as a thought partner, not a replacement. AI accelerates prototyping and thinking, but critical thinking and judgment still sits with humans: “AI is only as effective as the human expertise and data behind it.” She encourages teams to use AI to amplify thinking, not replace it."   Connect with Sahana on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahana-s-05bb9517/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahana-s-05bb9517/]  Subscribe to Sahana's Substack - https://substack.com/@sahana722010 [https://substack.com/@sahana722010]  Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/]  Learn more about NorthStar Solutions and Services LLC - https://www.northstaratwork.com/ [https://www.northstaratwork.com/]

10 Elevating Purpose and Humanizing Technology with Seema Sreenivas

Meet Seema Sreenivas, a dynamic program management leader with more than a decade of cross-functional leadership experience in the Healthcare policy and systems space in the public sector in the US. Her career has been centered on improving operations, driving meaningful outcomes, and leading teams through change with clarity and purpose. She brings a thoughtful perspective on leadership, growth, and how to create lasting impact within organizations.  Five key takeaways from this refreshing conversation centered on people, purpose, and human-centered tech: 1. Leading through lived experience Seema’s leadership was profoundly shaped by her parents’ ESRD journeys. Their experiences pulled her toward mission-driven work in healthcare and grounded her leadership in empathy, service, and purpose. 2. Leading with empathy  Seema's upbringing as a first‑generation Indian American gave her a unique lens on language, culture, and belonging. She leads with grace for those whose first language isn’t English and brings compassion into cross-cultural, multi-generational environments. 3. Humanizing technology to inspire dev teams One of the most powerful practices she introduced was bringing patients and nurses into quarterly PI events—helping developers reconnect with the mission behind their work. This shifted morale, motivation, and clarity across teams. 4. Navigating red tape with purpose In public-sector environments, progress can be slow. Seema kept teams energized by anchoring them to the mission and focusing on consistent delivery, cost savings, and stakeholder alignment. 5. Staying open-minded as a leadership practice Her biggest advice for middle managers: enter new environments with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to observe before taking action or initiating change.   Connect with Seema on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/seema-sreenivas-25407a47/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/seema-sreenivas-25407a47/]  Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/]  Learn more about NorthStar Solutions and Services LLC - https://www.northstaratwork.com/ [https://www.northstaratwork.com/]

09 Building Credibility with Clarity & Commitment with Abhinav Roy

Meet Abhinav Roy, an accomplished portfolio delivery lead with international experience in the banking industry and financial services industry, helping teams and organizations build the capability, clarity, and confidence to deliver at scale. With his support, they learn how to shift perspectives, embrace change, and create meaningful transformation. His global experience spans India, Europe, the US, and Australia, and he wears many hats - Enterprise Agile Coach, Leadership Coach, and a Certified Yoga Instructor! 4 key highlights in this deeply honest and reflective conversation:  1. Vulnerability is a leadership accelerator, not a liability. Abhinav’s turning point came when a team member told him he appeared “very robotic” and overly certain. That moment pushed him to show more of his human side — honesty, imperfection, presence. This experience reshaped his coaching style into what he calls hands‑on leadership — mentoring, modeling, and being human alongside his teams. 2. Culture and identity shape how we lead — and how we’re received. Growing up in a disciplined academic family in Bihar, India, and later working across India, Europe, the US, and Australia taught Abhinav to deeply respect context. He learned to interpret directness, silence, disagreement, and feedback through a cultural lens — a skill that makes cross‑border collaboration far more effective. 3. Middle managers carry invisible emotional labor — and credibility is the antidote. Abhinav names the unique tension of the messy middle: “Absorb the ambiguity from the top and the frustration from the bottom.” This constant orbiting around others can erode one’s sense of center. His antidote: build credibility through clarity, commitment, and doing the right work even when no one is watching. 4. AI becomes empowering when you engage with it. Abhinav moved from skepticism to hands‑on experimentation, building and breaking his own AI app to truly learn how it works. As he put it, “I built it, deployed it, broke it, built it, deployed it… the best way for me to learn AI was to do it myself.” His biggest insight: AI isn’t the threat; “staying incurious… that’s the threat.”   Connect with Abhinav on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinavroy19/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinavroy19/] or at https://www.perspectivecatalyst.co/ [https://www.perspectivecatalyst.co/]  Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/]  Learn more about NorthStar Solutions and Services LLC - https://www.northstaratwork.com/ [https://www.northstaratwork.com/]

08 Leading with Intention and Integrity with Tezeswari (Tez) Nettimi

Meet Tezeswari Nettimi, who goes by Tez, an award-winning technology and transformation leader with experience in driving IT modernization and strategic program delivery. A parent of two active teenagers, she is passionate about creating community impact through leadership, innovation, and mentorship. This straight-from-the heart conversation highlighted Tez's values-based, servant leadership and her commitment to leading with intention and integrity. Here are three key takeaways from this amazing conversation: 1. Lead with intention, not intensity. Tez emphasizes that sustainable leadership comes from clarity, prioritization, and intentionality, not just working harder or putting in more hours. As she put it, “Sustainability and performance comes not through intensity. It’s about longevity,” a reminder that boundaries and self‑compassion are essential for leaders and their teams. 2. Empower teams instead of having all the answers. A defining lesson from her early leadership experience: you don’t need to be the expert in everything. Your job is to bring the right people together, create psychological safety, and enable their strengths. True leadership is in being that enabler of collaboration and outcomes. 3. Consistency builds trust, and trust builds influence. As organizations get flatter and AI-driven, influence matters more than authority. Tez highlights that clear communication, active listening, and consistent values‑based behavior build trust—and trust is what gives leaders real influence across cultures, generations, and hierarchies.   Connect with Tez on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tnettimi/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tnettimi/]  Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-iyer-northstar/]  Learn more about NorthStar Solutions and Services LLC - https://www.northstaratwork.com/ [https://www.northstaratwork.com/]