Lower level employees (should) expect to have a relationship of trust with their manager. The manager should trust that the employee is capable of doing the wor

Lower level employees (should) expect to have a relationship of trust with their manager. The manager should trust that the employee is capable of doing the work the employee was hired to do and that the employee is comfortable raising issues with that work to them. The employee should trust that the manager respects their competence and will take every effort to maintain a suitable environment for them to do the work. Middle management should also have this relationship with the upper managers. Upper management should trust the middle managers are capable of leading their team and will raise issue doing so with them. Middle management should trust that upper management respects their ability to understand the needs of their team and will take every effort to maintain a suitable environment for them to lead their team. The role of middle management is to have relationships on both sides. If middle management is lonely this chain of trust is broken. This is an undoubtedly challenging position to be in because they are required to maintain relationships on both sides and the trust of each relationship must go both ways. If middle management is unable to express their concerns to upper management, either because upper management doesn't trust the middle manager is raising a important concern or because the middle manager doesn't trust upper management will listen (or raising the issue will threaten their career), they do not have a relationship of trust. The same goes for middle managers and their employees. But my job can suck too. I've have also been asked to find solutions to problems with variables outside of my control, or take on a project bigger than anything I've worked on before, or to do something outside my experience and knowledge. Two valuable lessons that have come from of these challenge for me have been 1) asking for help and 2) saying no. Both of these lessons are about communication, and communicating with other people is the best cure for loneliness.