Training is only ONE answer.

Disengagement from managers is increasing for the first time in years according to Gallop’s 2026 State of the Global Workplace Report and frankly I’m seeing too many people say training is not the solution. 

According to the report, managers engagement is down 8 percent since 2022; and for the first time managers are actually less engaged than the members of their teams. Think about it … the leaders responsible for building engaged, thriving teams are less engaged than the team members they are expected to lead.

This disengagement is FAR from surprising though, as managers had been clear for years about the extensive challenges and waning benefits of managing teams in the modern workplace. As I talk to 100 managers in 6 weeks, there’s an immense amount of them sharing the intense burnout they feel. They talk about holding very little decision power in their companies, yet facing the brunt of the accountability when a project doesn’t go to plan.

They share their disengagement stems directly from knowing what their team needs, but don’t have the power to actionize those changes.

These symptoms stem from many structural issues existing in our current ways of work, and is why many practitioners are saying trainings are not the answer.

And they’re right in a sense, but it’s an incomplete answer. 

I believe training is not the ONLY solution, but it is a CRITICAL piece of the changemaking cycle to move managers from disengagement to active contributors. I think about diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings, and the ways they have been demonized for years as wastes of time, yet education and opportunities for critical discussion are vital to creating workplace psychological safety.

The same goes for our managers. 

To address the employee disengagement crisis, we have to not avoid education, but go beyond the classroom.

We must change structures within the company contributing to managers’ burnout; decision matrices removing their power yet increasing pressure. We have to build accountability measures for the C-Suite all the way to the general employee. We have to not only assess our employee population, but also take action based on the data our employees are giving us.

And we have to provide consistent, tactical, outcome-driven educational opportunities for our managers addressing skill gaps and empowering them to take action on the information they receive.

Clearly, many companies jump directly to trainings as the end-all solution when there is disengagement or missed KPIs in their organizations. This is a deep mistake, as it is like taking a Tylenol while you have the flu. You’ll feel better in the moment, and there are clear benefits, but it’s only addressing one symptom while the illness ravages on. 

In a recent conversations with a successful manager at a Fortune 50 company, he shared “training would have expedited my growth by a year.” A powerful statement, especially from someone who did it the hard way and “figured it out.”

If you take nothing else, create a cohesive plan for addressing disengaged managers including assessment, education, action, and accountability; watch how your organizational culture and employee engagement thrive.

Author

Qy’Darrius (Q) McEachern

Great employees get promoted to be managers everyday, but most are never taught how to manage people. We help managers feel more confident and be better equipped to manage their teams.