By Allison Ebner
Here’s a number worth sitting with: manager engagement has dropped nine points since 2022: from 31% to just 22% according to Gallup’s newly released 2026 State of the Global Workplace Report. That’s not a blip. That’s a trend line that should have every organization, especially small and mid-sized ones, paying close attention.
For context, managers have historically been more engaged than the people they lead. They used to hold what Gallup calls an “engagement premium.” That premium is gone. Today’s managers are only as engaged — or disengaged — as the employees they’re responsible for developing and retaining. And in smaller organizations, where one disengaged manager can affect an entire department, the stakes are especially high.
Why This Matters Right Now
Managers are the connective tissue of your organization. They translate your strategy into daily action. They’re the reason people stay — or leave. And according to Gallup’s latest research, they’re also the single biggest factor in whether your people succeed, including the adoption of new technology and handling continuous change.
When managers disengage, the ripple effects are immediate and expensive: lower team performance, higher turnover, breakdown in communication between leadership and the front line, and employees who feel unsupported and unseen. For SMBs without deep bench strength, losing even one strong manager can take years to recover from.
The question isn’t whether this is happening in your organization. Given the data, the more honest question is: how much is it already costing you?
A Practical Action Plan for Leaders
You don’t need a massive budget to start moving the needle. You need intention and consistency. Here’s where to begin:
1. Conduct Stay Interviews with Your Managers
Don’t wait for exit interviews to find out what’s broken. Stay interviews are structured, one-on-one conversations designed to uncover what’s working, what’s not, and what would make your managers more engaged. Ask them directly: What energizes you at work? What drains you? What would make you want to stay for the next three years? The answers will tell you exactly where to focus.
2. Invest in Continuous, Relevant Training
Managers who feel underprepared disengage. Period. And in today’s environment, the skill set required of managers is evolving fast — communication, coaching, navigating hybrid teams, and now leading through AI adoption. One-and-done training doesn’t cut it. Build a rhythm of development: monthly learning touchpoints, cohort-based programs, and real-world skill practice that builds confidence over time.
3. Strengthen Communication with Senior Leadership
Managers who feel out of the loop — or worse, forgotten by the people above them — disengage quickly. Create structured channels for two-way communication: regular manager roundtables, skip-level check-ins, and leadership visibility that goes beyond company-wide announcements. Managers need to feel like trusted partners in where the organization is headed, not just messengers delivering someone else’s decisions.
4. Clarify Their Role — and Their Workload
Many managers are drowning in competing demands with no clear sense of what success looks like. Review what’s on their plates. Are they being asked to do work that should be delegated, automated, or eliminated? Role clarity and realistic workloads aren’t perks — they’re prerequisites for engagement.
5. Recognize Your Managers — Specifically and Genuinely
Managers spend their days giving recognition to others. When was the last time someone recognized them? Acknowledgment from senior leaders — specific, timely, and tied to real contributions — goes a long way. So does creating a culture where peer recognition among managers is normalized and encouraged.
6. Build Manager Community and Peer Connection
Isolation accelerates disengagement. Even in small organizations, managers can feel profoundly alone in their roles. Create intentional space for managers to connect with each other — peer roundtables, shared problem-solving sessions, or even informal monthly check-ins. Managers who feel part of a community are more resilient, more innovative, and more likely to stay.
7. Reconnect Them to Purpose
Disengaged managers often share a common thread: they’ve lost sight of why their work matters. Don’t assume they know. Tell them — regularly and specifically — how their leadership connects to the organization’s mission and impact. Purpose isn’t soft. It’s one of the most durable drivers of sustained engagement.
The Bottom Line
Best practice organizations are seeing 79% manager engagement – nearly four times the global average. The gap between those organizations and the rest isn’t luck. It’s intention. They are organizations that decided to treat manager engagement as a business strategy — not an HR initiative. They measure it, invest in it, and hold leadership accountable for it.
You don’t have to close that gap all at once. But you do have to start. Pick one action from this list and commit to it this quarter. Your managers — and your entire organization — will feel the difference.