The global workplace engagement crisis is expensive. In its State of the Global Workplace 2025, Gallup estimates that low engagement represents a $9.6 trillion opportunity in unrealized productivity. The same research also shows that it starts with leaders.

Engagement rises and well-being improves when managers are equipped and supported. And performance follows. Here’s what the data suggests leaders should do next.

1. Start with Manager Training

It’s no secret that managers create the employee experience. Yet Gallup finds that only 44% of managers have received any formal training for the role. Most learn on the job, even though their influence on engagement and well-being is greater than any other factor.

That gap shows up in how teams feel. Untrained managers often lack the skills and tools to drive engagement.  This includes skills like clarifying expectations, holding meaningful check-ins, and recognizing achievements.

Equipping managers with hands-on skills to lead conversations about goals, performance, and well-being makes a significant difference. When managers know how to guide their teams with empathy and structure, engagement improves.

2. Teach Coaching Skills

Gallup’s data consistently shows that employees who have regular, meaningful conversations with their managers are far more likely to be engaged and thriving. The best managers act as coaches rather than command-and-control supervisors.

Coaching helps employees see their strengths, set goals, and solve problems together. Managers who coach build trust, increase clarity, and create a cycle of continuous feedback.

Organizations that teach managers to coach improve engagement scores and retention, as well as performance. Coaching is the leadership muscle that multiplies everything else.

3. Invest in Ongoing Development

Training can start the culture shift, but it’s ongoing development that sustains it. Gallup found that managers who receive training see their thriving levels rise from 28% to 34%. When that training is paired with ongoing encouragement for development, thriving climbs to 50%.

While that is a personal win, it’s also a meaningful team-wide advantage. When managers are thriving, their energy and stability positively impacts the people they lead. That’s why development should be treated as an operational investment. Regular reflection, skill building, and peer learning help managers stay grounded and adaptable. These are the exact traits teams need from them most.

The Way Forward

The playbook sounds simple, but it’s not easy.  Organizations should train managers to lead and coach, not just manage or command.  

Resist the urge to think of training and development as perks or side projects. They’re essential investments for the team.

When managers thrive, engagement follows.  This can unlock massive, measurable potential for people, for performance, and for the bottom line. Reach out to learn more about how BetterYet helps managers and teams practice science-backed skills to flourish.

This is part four of our four-part look at Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 and what the data mean for leaders, wellbeing, and performance.