When managers struggle silently, your whole business pays the price.
Gartner’s recent research found that 75% of HR leaders believe their managers are overwhelmed. Another 70% say current leadership programmes aren’t preparing them for what’s ahead.
In my experience? This is a massive warning sign!
What’s happening?
I work with founder led businesses every day and I can tell you this is one of the biggest hidden risks to growth that no one’s really talking about.
Most managers in small to medium sized businesses weren’t hired to be managers. They were promoted because they were good at their job. Suddenly they’re responsible for other people, team dynamics, underperformance, hiring decisions, culture issues… and not a single person has shown them how.
And when that pressure builds?
They don’t raise the alarm, instead, they just quietly drown.
They avoid difficult conversations because they don’t feel equipped to handle them.
They try to keep the peace instead of setting clear expectations.
They get dragged into the day to day because they don’t know how to step back and actually lead.
And the impact spreads:
- Good people get fed up and leave
- Toxic behaviours slip through the cracks
- Founders find themselves trying to ‘fix’ things that shouldn’t be on their radar anymore
This isn’t a one off issue. It’s a pattern that I see time and time again. And it’s costing businesses more than they realise – in morale, in retention, in productivity and eventually in profit.
Why most leadership development doesn’t work
The typical route? Send your manager on a workshop or stickthem on an online course they can complete in their own time. Job done, right?
Wrong!!
These ‘off the shelf’ programmes often miss the point.They’re too generic, too theoretical and completely disconnected from the messyreality of running a team in a growing business. We’ve all been there – goneout for a jolly old day, listened to someone waffle on about leadership ormanagement techniques, had a free lunch, probably skived off in the afternoonor come back full of enthusiasm and new ideas … just to be thrown into businessas usual and it all fall off the radar.
Telling someone to “be more empathetic” or “embrace radical candour” means nothing when they’re facing back to back one to ones, trying to manage a difficult employee and dealing with a founder who keeps changing priorities every five minutes. (Yes, you can be a problem too!)
What managers actually need
They need practical support. Contextualised advice. Real world tools that work in the kinds of businesses you’re building.
They need:
- Clear guidance on how to handle the tricky stuff like performance dips, bad attitudes, constant churn of people
- Confidence to make decisions and stand by them (even when they’re unpopular)
- A better understanding of their own leadership style and how to flex it to lead different personalities
- A safe space to talk through issues they’re probably too nervous to bring to you
But most of all, they need to know they’re not alone!
Because when managers feel backed, resourced and confident, your whole business feels the benefit.
What this means for you as a business leader
If you’re serious about scaling sustainably, this has to be on your radar. Manager capability is the foundation of everything from culture to performance. And no, this doesn’t mean adding another line to the training budget and hoping for the best.
It means being intentional about how you grow your leaders from the inside out. Giving them the kind of support that actually fits your business and not some corporate blueprint from a company ten times your size.
Because let’s face it, your managers are the bridge between your vision and how it actually gets delivered. If that bridge is shaky, everything else wobbles too.
You need human leaders who are supported, confident and clear on what good leadership looks like in your business.
Get that right, and everything else – the performance, engagement, retention etc. starts to feel a hell of a lot easier.
PS– This is exactly what I do through Leadership Unlocked™.
It’s a no fluff, real world leadership programme for managers in growing businesses. Built around practical tools, honest conversation and support that actually sticks.
If you’ve got managers quietly floundering and you’re ready to throw them a lifeline (before they go under), drop me a message. I’ll tell you straight if it’s the right fit.