Think for a moment about the worst manager you ever had. Imagine yourself back in that office with that manager – how did they make you feel? Most likely, they made you feel pretty bad. Now switch gears and think of the best manager you ever had – how did they make you feel? Words that pop into your mind might be; valued, respected, listened to, empowered, or even inspirational.
Bottom line, managers matter. They are the ones who are most directly influencing your company culture, upholding necessary policies, engaging and growing your teams, and retaining top talent in a climate where talent is scarce.
I remember becoming a people manager for the first time. I was told to read a book and then lead my team successfully. I failed miserably. I wasn’t good at giving feedback, felt that workplace relationships should never involve personal information, and that the numbers mattered most. In that first year, 25% of my team turned over because I didn’t know what I was doing. Luckily, I’ve had more than a decade of experience to get it right.
If you had a hard time picturing a great manager, you’re not alone. It’s because the talent required to be a great manager is rare. Research by Gallup shows that about one in 10 people possess the talent to manage. On the other hand, when companies increase the number of talented managers and engaged employees, they achieve, on average, 147% higher earnings per share than their competition.
So, investing in managers isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s business critical. Here are five reasons why companies should rethink their manager and leadership development strategy.
People don’t quit their job, they quit their boss. When Gallup is reporting that 67% of your workforce is disengaged and 71% feel their job performance ratings from their managers are unfair, we need to do something and fast.
Without supporting the development of your people leaders, your employees will quit and go looking for a job and leader that inspires them to do their best work. Or worse, they will mentally quit but physically stay, doing the bare minimum to not be terminated but also not striving to achieve breakout performance.
Makes sense, right? Who do you think is leaving your organisation? It’s most likely your top performers who will be looking for a new opportunity.
Our managers need to be able to coach, give feedback, create psychological safety and allow for dissent on their teams to reach breakthrough performance. None of these skills are natural (for the most part) and without them, they cannot truly develop others.
And while hiring external leadership is helpful, without a pipeline of internal leaders your organisation is cutting off their own feet.
Organisations put a lot of trust and responsibility on their frontline managers and even higher-level leaders. The expectation is that they can work autonomously, exhibit high decision quality, have consistent composure, and lead others through change.
Those are all skills that need to be developed in your managers and leaders. Without the ability to think critically and hold conflicting views simultaneously, it is unlikely that they will be able to lead others through times when pressure to perform is high.
It’s not just new manager training that is important. Of course, the basics of coaching, giving feedback, managing and measuring work all fall in the scope of a manager. But what about in 2025? What about when your company introduces automation and chatbots?
Investing in your manager and leadership development can help organisations ensure a smooth transition into the future, especially as you scale. Programming that maps to the strategic goals of the organisation can reduce friction and increase performance.
A study of The Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of America from McKinsey in 2010 showed us the proof. These programmes matter and have an impact. One key element they highlight is that they had generated returns that were four times the cost of the programme.
As we continue to invest in manager and leadership development at HubSpot, I try to keep these reasons in mind. Managing people takes practice, insight, deployable skills and a lot of empathy. And while the time, resources and energy needed to build great managers may seem expensive and daunting, the truth is companies have spent far too long not investing in the right resources or training to help build managers that will help scale and move their companies into the future.
Having good managers is a vital part of being a good employer. Find out more about building an effective employer branding strategy here.
By Nick Congelosi
Nick Congelosi is the manager of management and leadership development at HubSpot
Manager photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
