05/21/2026
We all know how much managers matter. Gallup says they drive 70% of employee engagement. Research by Gallup also shows that, compared to engaged teams, disengaged teams have higher turnover, lower profitability, lower productivity, and more safety incidents, absenteeism, shrinkage, and unhappy customers.
When management isn’t working, the ripple effects show up everywhere: disengaged employees, high turnover, broken trust, culture issues, poor communication, and a whole lot of organizational drag.
And yet... time and again, organizations underinvest in management development. Or worse, they double down on approaches that don’t work. Why?
Here are four reasons we see all the time:
𝟏. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐧
We see it constantly. You’re a great accountant, nurse, surveyor — so you get promoted to manage the accountants, nurses, or surveyors. It’s a common (but false) intuition: that being great at a specific job means you’ll also be great at managing people who do that job. But management is a different skillset entirely. It’s a job no one really trains you for.
𝟐. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚 “𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞”
Management development gets pushed aside again and again in favor of other, more pressing work. Meanwhile, the slow-burn problems are quietly stacking up — until they become urgent. Disengagement. Complaints. Resentment. People leaving. By then, it’s already costing you.
𝟑. 𝐖𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞
It’s hard to quantify things like morale, engagement, or culture. So we default to focusing on the stuff with clean data. It feels safer. But just because something’s harder to measure doesn’t make it less important. And yes — the ROI of management development can be measured. It just takes time, creativity, and a willingness to see the whole picture.
𝟒. 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤
You’ve probably experienced this: a leadership program filled with inspiring lessons, big ideas, and “wouldn’t it be nice” conversations. People leave energized. Then a few months later? No one’s talking about it. Nothing’s changed. It’s flavor of the year. And it leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths. Real development means giving managers practical tools — approaches they can break down, practice, and use day-to-day. And it means setting up sustainable systems for long-term reinforcement.
At Nash Consulting, this is the work we care most about: equipping managers with the real-world skills, habits, and support they need to lead well —consistently, sustainably, and with actual impact.
What would you add? Why do you think organizations keep underinvesting in management skills, even when the costs are so high?
