Mid-level leaders are bearing the brunt of non-stop transformation. Life sciences has never stood still. But right now, the pace and pressure of change are taking their toll on the people leading and managing at the centre.
There's no shortage of headlines about the pressures facing the sector. From restructuring and cost control to patent cliffs and looming tariffs, the drivers of change are relentless.
What's less visible – but just as critical – is the impact this is having on the people in the middle. The leaders that are tasked with translating strategy into action, managing the uncertainty, and holding high-performing teams together.
As organisations flatten hierarchies in pursuit of agility, mid-level leaders are absorbing more than ever. They're supporting larger teams across locations and time zones. They're navigating AI and new ways of working. All too often, they are managing others without the clarity or context they need - and doing it all at a pace that leaves little time to pause, reflect, or reset.
Being a mid-level leader is a demanding role on the best of days. In today's climate, the burden is becoming unsustainable.
The human cost is showing up in the data. According to Gallup's 2025 State of the Global Workplace Report
→ Global engagement has dropped to 21% – matching pandemic-era lows.
→ Manager engagement fell from 30% to 27%.
→ Only 33% of employees globally say they're thriving.
→ 40% report daily stress; 22% feel disconnected or lonely.
For a sector powered by innovation and collaboration, these numbers should be a wake-up call.
Mid-level leaders are more than operational linchpins. They're culture carriers and translators of strategy. They are the glue – and the buffer – between C-suite and the front line.
When well-supported, they are capable of raising engagement, sustaining high performance, and building resilient, adaptive teams. But the effects don't stay contained when they're overburdened and struggling. And when the cracks spread, it impacts business alignment and cohesion. It's then no longer a wellbeing issue. It's a performance risk.
We see many organisations investing in and supporting their senior teams and high-potentials but there is a tendency to overlook those in the middle – those shaping how change is experienced everyday.
Mid-level leaders don't need resilience training. What they need is a system that enables them to lead well, especially under pressure.
Resilience is too often framed as an individual trait to be trained or topped up. But when the systems around a leader remain unclear, inconsistent, or unsupported, asking them to be more resilient can feel like asking someone to swim harder in a riptide. It's exhausting, and unsustainable. What works instead is strengthening the system around them. That means giving mid-level leaders
→ The clarity and context to prioritise confidently.
→ The mindset and skills to coach and lead through change.
→ Practical tools to shift behaviour and navigate uncertainty.
→ Space to reflect, recover, and reconnect with purpose
This kind of support won't remove pressure but can make it navigable.
A supportive system enables performance that's not just resilient – but regenerative too.
Resilient performance means continuing to deliver even under strain without burning out or breaking down. But resilience alone isn't enough. The data is clear: operating in survival mode for too long leads to fatigue, disengagement, and attrition.
Regenerative performance goes further. It’s when leaders renew their energy, reconnect to purpose, and build capacity in others. It's the difference between ‘holding it together’ and creating an opportunity for growth. As Margaret Heffernan wrote in Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future (Simon & Schuster, 2020, "Resilience is the ability to recover from stress. Regeneration is the ability to grow and thrive because of it." ¹
Organisations that offer support to mid-level don't just avoid burnout – they build cultures where people can adapt, perform, and thrive over the long term.
"Building resilience is not about simply training individuals – it requires creating the right environment and systems that support people in maintaining performance during periods of sustained stress." (McKinsey, 2023)
This is the kind of environment we help our clients build. At Open Water, we've spent 17 years supporting life science organisations to equip their leaders – especially those at the centre - with the mindset, skills and culture to lead sustainably through change.
The Connected Manager program re-energises performance. It reconnects people to their purpose. And it enables managers and mid-level leaders to act as a multiplier force for engagement because they're equipped to lead and coach, not just deliver.
If organisations want sustained performance in a high-pressure environment, they need to start where the strain is greatest – by supporting the people holding the centre.
Specialists in the human side of change, we partner with leading life science organisations to deliver deep change and cultural transformation.