Management Engagement: The Challenge in Today’s Leadership

Why engaged teams solve problems independently and disengaged teams create issues that executives must constantly address.

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The Engagement Crisis Has Reached Management

Employee engagement is at a critical juncture, and the latest data reveal a troubling trend. Employee engagement remains static at low levels, and managers themselves are becoming increasingly disengaged.

According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2025, manager engagement has fallen dramatically from 30% to 27%, while individual contributor engagement remains stagnant at just 18%. The decline is most pronounced among two critical groups: managers under 35 (down five percentage points) and female managers (down seven percentage points).

This is a warning signal. When the people responsible for leading and developing others become disengaged, the ripple effects cascade throughout the entire organization.

Why Manager Engagement Matters

The relationship between manager and employee engagement isn't coincidental. Our research across multiple organizations revealed a striking pattern regardless of demographics, tenure, or role¹. The employees who answered “yes” to the question, “My immediate supervisor cares about me and my development,” were 10-15% more engaged across every organizational alignment metric: strategy, customer focus, leadership trust, and team commitment.