Harvard Business Review LogoFebruary 10, 2026PepeLaguarda/Getty ImagesOne in four managers would prefer not to be people managers at all. Why the reluctance? Many of these managers found themselves in the role without knowing much about it beforehand, with less thanFor the past couple of years, Gartner research has suggested that organizations have a management problem. For example, in an April 2024 Gartner survey of 162 HR leaders, only 35% and 27% reported being satisfied with the effectiveness of mid-level and frontline managers, respectively. Employees aren’t impressed either: A July 2024 Gartner survey of 3,529 employees found that only 38% reported satisfaction with the quality of their manager, and just over half reported that they trust their manager.
Stop Promoting the Wrong People into Manager Roles
One in four managers would prefer not to be people managers at all. Why the reluctance? Many of these managers found themselves in the role without knowing much about it beforehand, with less than a third reporting exposure to simulations, mentorship, or opportunities to gauge whether they were suited to becoming a manager. Highly engaged managers are nearly four times more likely to be high enterprise contributors, more than twice as likely to have high intent to stay, and three times more likely to exhibit high discretionary effort compared to their less-engaged counterparts. HR leaders need to both prevent the installation of reluctant managers and mitigate the impact of those already in the role.
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