Leadership Overwhelm? The Problem Might Be The System, Not the Leader
Author: Gabriella Bodi, co-founder and CVO of [eureka]
Key takeaway: Manager burnout isn’t just a leadership capability problem. According to Gallup’s latest workplace data, manager engagement has dropped sharply, and the issue often comes down to systems rather than individuals. Role clarity, targeted support and healthier work structures may matter more than another resilience workshop. |
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Work shouldn't s*ck, right?
And yet, for the people holding your organisation together, Gallup just confirmed it really does.
Gallup dropped the 2026 State of the Global Workplace report.(1) And if you care about how organisations actually function, the manager data is where you need to look.
What Does Gallup’s Latest Workplace Data Actually Tell Us About Managers?
Manager engagement has dropped nine points since 2022, hitting 22% globally in 2025 which is the steepest single-year fall on record. Managers used to hold an "engagement premium" over the people they led, meaning they showed higher engagement levels than individual contributors. Now that premium has vanished.
Why Manager Burnout Is Not a Capability Problem
This isn't a capability problem. It's a capacity one.
Here's what the data is actually telling us:
45% of managers say they experienced significant stress the day before being surveyed. (individual contributors are at 39%)
They experience more anger, sadness and loneliness than the people they lead. A resilience course in itself will not solve this issue.
In best-practice organisations, 79% of managers are engaged. It is nearly 4 times the global average of 22%.

“Manager overload is often not an individual failing. It’s systemic overload.” |
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How can this get better? We need to stop treating this as a manager problem and see it as a systems problem.
How Can Organisations Support Managers at a Systems Level?
1. Role Clarity
Role clarity, realistic spans of control, fewer competing priorities, protected time to actually think. Sound basic? I know, but still how many of your managers are complaining about these?
2. Role-Specific Support
The data also shows what a single targeted intervention can do: with role-specific support, manager wellbeing jumps from 28% to 50%. That's huge!
3. Leadership Behaviours
Okay, it's not only structural. Managers still shape what happens within the system they're handed.
How clearly they communicate and delegate.
How they build psychological safety within the teams they lead.
How they show up under pressure.
What Should Leaders Take Away From This?
The system sets the conditions. Managers shape the day-to-day experience inside them.
If we want managers to hold culture together, we need to stabilize the system they operate in first.
(1) Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2026: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx


