The Manager Effectiveness Crisis
The Manager Effectiveness Crisis
A survey of 689 HR directors and executives reveals critical gaps in managerial competence that are burning out top talent and tanking team performance.
Five questions. Five alarming answers.
We surveyed 689 HR directors and executives with a simple, direct question set designed to reveal the state of managerial effectiveness in their organizations. The results paint a troubling picture: most managers lack the skills to have difficult conversations, are misdirecting their energy toward low performers, and are creating conditions that burn out their best people.
The average organization reports that two-thirds of their managers regularly avoid or delay giving critical feedback to employees.
Nearly 7 in 10 high performers are at risk—carrying too much workload, covering for low performers, and feeling undervalued.
Only half of managers can comfortably tell an employee "not yet" or "not this role" when promotion expectations can't be met.
The majority of managers spend more time trying to fix their worst performers than developing their best.
HR executives would only trust about a third of their managers to handle difficult employees—narcissistic, dramatic, or manipulative—without HR in the room.
The complete picture
Average Scores Across All Five Metrics
Percentage reported by HR directors and executives
Feedback Avoidance Distribution
What % of managers avoid or delay critical feedback?
High Performer Burnout Risk
What % of high performers are at risk of burnout?
Manager Focus: Worst vs. Best
% spending more time on worst performers than developing best
Trust for Difficult Conversations
% of managers trusted to handle difficult employees without HR
By the numbers
Response Distribution Comparison
How responses clustered across all five questions
| Metric | Mean | Median | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managers avoiding/delaying feedback | 67% | 71% | |
| High performers at burnout risk | 68% | 75% | |
| Comfortable saying "not yet" on promotions | 50% | 50% | |
| Focus more on worst than best performers | 61% | 60% | |
| Trusted with difficult employee conversations | 35% | 30% |
How these issues connect
Correlation Matrix
Relationships between the five key metrics
The five questions we asked
HR directors and executives were asked to estimate percentages for each of the following questions based on their organizational experience:
What percentage of your managers regularly avoid or delay giving critical feedback?
What percentage of your high performers are at risk of burnout—carrying too much of the workload, covering for low performers, and feeling undervalued?
What percentage of your managers are comfortable telling an employee "not yet" or "not this role" when promotion expectations can't be met?
What percentage of your managers spend more time trying to fix their worst performers than developing their best?
What percentage of your managers would you trust to handle a performance conversation with a truly difficult employee—someone narcissistic, dramatic, confrontational, or manipulative—without HR in the room?
About this study
This research was conducted by Leadership IQ to assess the current state of managerial effectiveness as perceived by HR leadership across organizations.
Sample Size
689 HR directors and executives from diverse organizations and industries.
Survey Design
Five targeted questions asking respondents to estimate percentages based on their organizational experience.
Response Scale
0–100% scale allowing for precise estimates of organizational conditions.
Analysis
Descriptive statistics, distribution analysis, and correlation testing.
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