In fast-moving businesses, manager development often gets bumped down the priority list. New tech gets implemented, brand campaigns get launched, employee benefits get revamped – and yet, the very people responsible for leading the teams behind all of that? They’re left to figure it out on their own. In fact, a staggering 82% of managers are accidental with no formal training.
But here’s the truth: underdeveloped managers are quietly draining your business.
According to the Chartered Management Institute, bad management costs the average UK employer £7,000 every week. That’s not a typo, £7,000 every single week.
If that figure doesn’t make you pause, it should.
The silent drain: How untrained managers undermine your business
Most businesses wouldn’t dream of putting a pilot in a cockpit without flight training, or letting a surgeon operate without a medical degree. So why are we so comfortable letting untrained managers lead teams – the very thing that determines whether people stay, grow, or leave?
Managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement, according to Gallup. Yet when engagement drops, many companies look everywhere but at their managers. They invest in culture surveys, ping-pong tables, wellness platforms, and reward schemes – all of which are great, but only tackle the other 30%.
It’s like fixing the wallpaper while the foundations crack.
Here’s what happens when management development isn’t a priority:
- Burnout spreads – Managers without tools to delegate or coach properly often take on too much themselves, leading to poor boundaries and team-wide burnout.
- Engagement plummets – Without strong day-to-day leadership, even the most motivated employees lose interest.
- Retention tanks – People don’t leave companies, they leave managers. And when those managers haven’t been set up to succeed, high turnover follows.
- Performance stalls – Managers set the tone. When they aren’t equipped to handle conflict, hold clear expectations, or motivate effectively, results suffer across the board.
The hidden cost of “Just getting by”
Some managers make it work – just about. They lean on instinct, mimic past managers, or learn through trial and error. But managing people is too important and too costly to rely on guesswork.
Every team member under an ill-equipped manager represents missed performance potential. Every disengaged employee is a retention risk. Every people issue escalated to HR is time lost that could have been prevented through better management.
And if you’ve ever promoted a high performer into management and watched them flounder, not because they weren’t capable, but because they weren’t prepared, you already know how damaging that gap can be.
It doesn’t have to be this way
The good news is that great management isn’t about charisma or decades of experience, it’s about skill, and like any skill it can be learned.
Start by giving managers clarity on their own behaviours: how they show up, what drives them, and where their blind spots are. Then show them how their team thinks, communicates, and responds to different styles of leadership.
From there, equip them with simple, repeatable frameworks to delegate effectively; motivate in line with behavioural drivers; hold clear expectations and performance conversations and handle conflict early and productively.
Most importantly, give them support as they put it all into practice, whether that’s through coaching, training, or guided peer learning.
The bottom line? Development is not a “Nice to have”
It’s a business-critical investment. If you’re still questioning whether you can afford to develop your managers, consider this: can you afford not to?
Because while you wait, disengagement rises, productivity drops, and £7,000 a week keeps slipping out the door.
