Your Team’s Not the Problem But Your Manager Might Be

When engagement starts slipping, most organizations look at their teams. But what if the problem isn’t at the bottom, but at the middle?

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025, only 27% of managers are engaged at work. And yet, managers are responsible for 70% of the variance in team engagement.

If your managers are disengaged, overwhelmed, or operating without clarity, your teams will reflect it. Disengagement spreads down the ranks faster than any memo from the top.

To stop the slide, you don’t need another employee engagement campaign. You need a leadership system that re-engages your managers first.

The Manager Engagement Crisis

Managers Are Overloaded and Under-Supported

Most managers are promoted because of performance, not preparedness. They’re expected to lead people, drive performance, adopt new tools, and navigate uncertainty without the training or structure to do it well.

They spend their days in meetings, their evenings on emails, and their weekends trying to catch up. Without a clear leadership rhythm or purpose-driven structure, it’s no wonder they’re disengaging.

Disengaged Managers Drain Teams

When managers are checked out, unclear, or reactive, teams don’t just stall, they spiral:

  • Communication becomes inconsistent and vague
  • Feedback disappears
  • Priorities shift without warning
  • Recognition becomes rare

The result? Quiet quitting. High turnover. Low innovation. Mediocre results.

The Engagement Cascade Is Real

Engagement isn’t just a culture issue. It’s a systems issue. And if your system doesn’t equip managers with purpose, clarity, and rhythm, they’ll burn out, and bring the team down with them.

How Lead With Purpose Re-Engages Managers

1. Start with the One Page Purpose Plan™

Lead With Purpose provides every manager with a single-page tool that anchors their leadership in what matters:

  • Organizational mission, vision, and values
  • Key annual goals
  • Departmental focus areas
  • Team success measures

No more guessing. Managers can lead every 1-on-1, team meeting, and feedback session with crystal-clear alignment.

2. Build a Rhythm of Leadership

Disengaged managers often lack a consistent structure. We help them install:

  • Weekly check-ins to reinforce direction
  • Quarterly transitions to recalibrate focus
  • Ongoing recognition through tools like Bravo Zulu

This rhythm restores their confidence and gives their team predictability.

3. Empower Better Decision-Making

We teach managers simple yet powerful decision tools:

  • 40–70 Rule: Make decisions with 40–70% of the information. Don’t wait for perfect information.
  • Captain’s Orders: Clearly delegate decisions with guardrails and accountability

This takes pressure off the executive team and creates agile leadership throughout the organization.

4. Reignite Purpose and Accountability

Managers are closest to the people doing the work. When they lead with purpose, that energy becomes contagious. When they don’t, apathy spreads just as fast.

Lead With Purpose helps managers:

  • Reconnect to their own “why”
  • Coach their teams through challenge and change
  • Own the leadership moments that matter most

Conclusion: If You Want to Fix Engagement, Start with Your Managers

Employee disengagement doesn’t start with employees. It starts with the people they look to every day for direction, clarity, and energy.

If your managers are stuck in survival mode, so is your culture. But with the right leadership system, they can become your strongest engagement asset.

Lead With Purpose re-engages your managers so they can re-engage your teams.

Ready to rebuild your leadership from the middle out? Reach out to [email protected] for a complimentary consultation.

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