What is Middle Leader

The COVID-19 pandemic sent education into a tailspin. It disrupted traditional modes of learning and wreaked havoc on education stakeholders' wellbeing. Amid this chaos, education middle leaders had to find innovative strategies to ensure that high-quality learning continued. Unfortunately, while there is a growing body of literature on senior leadership and managing crises, less is known about the lived experiences of middle leaders while leading during a crisis. Using a narrative research approach, this chapter aimed to contribute to this conversation by telling the story of a midlevel higher education leader in the Caribbean who ‘led from the middle' to ensure that student learning continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emphasis was placed on her leadership experiences while navigating the vagaries of the pandemic and the idiosyncrasies of middle leadership. The results revealed the importance of leading with care, leveraging relationships, and having the support of senior leadership to empower middle leaders and provide them with a sense of agency during times of crisis.