When I was a new teacher, I often heard about the lasting impact an ineffective teacher could have on students, especially in the low-income community where I taught. Studies at the time emphasized how poor instruction could dampen a child’s long-term academic performance, shaping their future opportunities in ways that felt irreversible. As a first-year teacher responsible for a room full of seven- and eight-year-olds, that weight felt immense. It was as if their entire future rested in my hands.
Years later, when I became a first-time manager, I felt a similar pressure. By most measures, my first year as a manager was a series of missteps—perhaps with a few bright spots in between. I simply didn’t know what I didn’t know. Now, with experience, I can see those gaps clearly. And yet, just as I saw with my fellow new teachers, most new managers I’ve coached over the years are eager to do well. They care deeply about getting it right. But they don’t always have the tools or support to succeed.
The economic costs of ineffective managers.
A recent HR study found that bad managers cost U.S. companies up to $360 billion annually in turnover, productivity loss, and decreased engagement. Forbes places the financial toll even higher—over $960 billion annually in the U.S. and a staggering $8.1 trillion globally. William Arruda of Forbes attributes this crisis largely to poor selection practices, citing a Gallup survey showing that companies choose the wrong candidate for management roles 82% of the time. While selection is undoubtedly a factor, it’s not the only, or even the primary problem.
A vicious cycle of management ineffectiveness.
The real issue is that we continue to promote individuals into management without equipping them with the skills to lead effectively. Just as great teachers aren’t born but developed through training, mentorship, and experience, great managers require intentional investment. Yet, far too often, new managers are handed responsibility without guidance, expected to "figure it out" in real time. If organizations truly want to reduce turnover, boost engagement, and drive performance, they must rethink leadership development in preparing new managers. The cost of ineffective leadership isn’t just measured in dollars—it’s reflected in burnout, disengagement, and untapped potential across entire teams.
Why then do organizations across sectors continue to roll the dice on inexperienced managers without providing them with good training or ongoing development? It’s clearly bad for the bottom line, regardless of industry.
We’re doing management training wrong.
An HBR article from the pre-pandemic era of management and leadership development provides some clues. In, Where Companies Go Wrong With Learning and Development, Steve Glaveski lays out the case that while companies spend at the time north of $359 billion on learning and development globally, that investment is often ineffective because “the purpose, timing, and content of training is flawed.”
If companies are spending billions on training but still struggling with bad managers, it’s time to take a hard look at how that money is being invested. New managers don’t just need one-off training sessions; they need structured, ongoing development that meets them where they are, when they need it most. Otherwise, we’re not just setting them up to fail. We’re setting their teams, and ultimately organizations up for failure as well.
We’re building a movement to change how we work, and we believe managers are the key lever. This is the future of learning and development: accessible, scalable, and built to empower managers where they need it most, in the flow of their work. To learn more about our work and get involved, connect with us at www.managereq.com.
