New Leadership Book Examines How Middle Managers Can Have More Impact in a ‘Do More With Less’ Environment

In the new book, middle management expert Rebecca Houghton explains how middle managers can control their time, sharpen their focus and lead—at any level.

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, February 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As workplaces change faster than ever — driven by AI adoption, organisational restructuring and constant “doing more with less” productivity pushes — a growing number of Australian professionals are reporting higher workloads but lower levels of effectiveness and control at work.

According to middle management expert Rebecca Houghton, the issue is not a lack of effort, but a lack of systems.

Houghton is the author of More Impact, More Easily (Wiley, out now), a leadership and management book that examines why traditional approaches to productivity and performance are failing in modern workplaces and what high-impact professionals, particularly those in the middle of organisations, are doing differently.

“We’ve taught people how to work hard,” Houghton says.

“But we haven’t taught them how to work with leverage, using systems more smartly.

“This is happening across the workforce,” Houghton says.

“But it’s hitting people in the middle of organisations hardest. They’re carrying the pressure from above, the needs from below, and the expectations from everywhere, often without the authority, clarity or support to make meaningful change.”

Drawing on proprietary research profiling more than 1,000 Australian middle managers and two decades spent leading talent and transformation in large organisations, Houghton puts words to what many professionals are quietly feeling: stretched thin, overlooked, and overwhelmed in the middle of it all.

Her research reveals a growing disconnect between expectation and empowerment: people are asked to deliver results, manage complexity and absorb pressure, without the authority, clarity or operating systems required to do it well.

“It’s not that people don’t care, or that they need more motivation or resilience,” Houghton says.

“It’s that they’re being asked to hold everything together without the tools to do it well.

“They need better ways to operate including systems that control the pace of work, sharpen their focus and increase influence.

“When people have clarity, influence and space to think, impact becomes easier. That’s when good work actually gets done.”

Rather than promising a productivity overhaul or a confidence glow-up, More Impact, More Easily offers something more practical: 12 systems that will help you control the pace of work, own your space and have more influence, regardless of your job title.

"The book offers a practical playbook for increasing influence, clarity and performance without longer hours, louder self-promotion, or burnout," Houghton says.

“We know AI will replace admin-heavy roles.

“But it won’t replace leaders, managers and professionals who can think strategically, connect the dots, influence across silos and translate change into action.”

The book reframes leadership for the modern workplace, where authority isn’t assumed, resources are tight, and influence matters more than hierarchy.

More Impact, More Easily is published by Wiley and is available now in paperback and eBook formats.

Amy Springhall
The Visibility Project
amy@thevisibilityproject.com.au

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