THE BURGER

FRAMEWORK™

A practical, memorable framework for high-performing middle managers.

The Burger Framework™ gives middle managers a simple, practical way to understand and develop the capabilities they need tolead effectively up, down and across.

WHY A BURGER?

Leadership frameworks only create value when managers can remember and apply them in the moments that matter. The Burger Framework™ turns critical middle management capabilities into a practical visual model that is easy to recall, discuss and apply.

Every ingredient has a job. Miss an ingredient and leadership performance suffers. Strengthen the whole burger and the middle becomes stronger.

THE COMPLETE BURGER FRAMEWORK™

BUILT FOR THE REAL WORK OF THE MIDDLE

The Burger Framework™ is Sally Foley-Lewis' proprietary model. The capabilities inside it aren't arbitrary. They are grounded in established research about the behaviours that drive middle management effectiveness and organisational performance.

EXPLORE THE INGREDIENTS

Each ingredient plays a unique role:

MANAGING UP

Build confidence upward.

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ASK YOURSELF

Am I making it easier for my senior leader to trust me with greater authority?

LIFTING OTHERS

Turn expertise into shared capability.

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ASK YOURSELF

Am I solving this for someone, or helping them become capable of solving it themselves?

Watch video:

PROBLEM-SOLVING

Exercise judgement.

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ASK YOURSELF

Should I solve this here, or does it genuinely need to travel upward?

Watch video:

LEGACY

Make improvement repeatable.

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ASK YOURSELF

What am I leaving better than I found it?

Watch video:

COMMUNICATION

Create understanding and action.

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ASK YOURSELF

Is my communication producing the understanding and action I intend?

Watch video:

SELF-LEADERSHIP

Lead yourself deliberately.

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ASK YOURSELF

Am I managing myself as deliberately as I'm managing the work?

Watch video:

VALUES ALIGNMENT

Know what guides your judgement.

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ASK YOURSELF

Are my decisions aligned with what I and my organisation say matters?

Watch video:

LEADING

YOUR TEAM

Create capability rather than dependency.

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ASK YOURSELF

Can my team perform effectively without everything depending on me?

WHY THE BUNS MATTER

TOP BUN

MANAGING UP

Influence, insight, judgement, recommendations, trust.

THE INGREDIENTS

The capabilities you use to lead yourself, your people and the work.

BOTTOM BUN

LEADING YOUR TEAM

Direction, capability, accountability, development, performance.

THE RESEARCH

BEHIND EACH

INGREDIENT

Each component of the Burger Framework™ is connected to established research.

Supported by established research across middle management, people leadership, decision-making, self-leadership, communication, coaching, knowledge sharing and organisational performance.

WHY THESE CAPABILITIES?

Middle managers have a unique role in every organisation. They must:

TRANSLATE

Organisational intent into execution.

CONNECT

Inspire down, collaborate across and influence up.

TRANSLATE

Turn information and problems into judgement and action.

TRANSLATE

Turn individual expertise into team capability and lasting impact.

SEVEN LEADERSHIP SHIFTS

Technical Expert

Reactive

Individual Contributor

Problem Solver

Permission Seeker

Communicator

Operational Manager

Intentional Leader

Purposeful

Organisational Connector

Capability Builder

Trusted Decision Maker

Influencer

Strategic Contributor

THE BURGER IN ACTION

See how the ingredients work together in real leadership situations:

PUT THE FRAMEWORK TO WORK

Five questions you can use today.

❓ What am I holding onto that someone else could own?

❓ What should I solve here before escalating?

❓ Where am I communicating information when I need to influence?

❓ What improvement have we made that isn't yet repeatable?

❓ What does my senior leader need from me right now?

Copyright © 2026 Sally Foley-Lewis

Sally Foley-Lewis: Your Trusted Expert for Middle Manager Development

Copyright © 2025 Sally Foley-Lewis, All Rights Reserved.