The Hidden Cost of Stuck Managers and Competing Work Styles
Managers don’t need to stay stuck, and employees don’t need to remain disengaged.
The Hidden Cost of Stuck Managers and Competing Work Styles
Low attrition doesn’t mean high engagement. In fact, as Psychology Today recently highlighted, many employees are staying put out of caution, not commitment.
On the surface, today’s calmer labor market looks stable. But beneath it, managers are feeling stuck, work styles are colliding, and productivity is stalling. Employees may not be walking out the door, but disengagement is quietly eroding performance.
Competing Work Styles, Hidden Friction
The article points out that more than half of managers feel unequipped to navigate diverse communication and working styles. This is exactly where my work begins. When managers don’t know how to reconcile competing work styles, misalignment grows, collaboration slows, and burnout risks increase.
Leaders often think productivity will come from efficiency tools like AI, but as the research notes, technology can’t resolve the challenges of human collaboration. Work styles, when unmanaged, cost teams energy and erode progress.
Why Managers Feel Stuck
According to the research, managers are the single biggest driver of employee engagement — accounting for up to 70% of the variance. Yet most managers haven’t been given the training or frameworks to lead effectively in today’s complex environment. This leaves them stuck in reactive patterns: putting out fires, managing friction, and trying to “get through the week” instead of leading with intention.
A Better Path Forward
This is where capacity becomes the new advantage. My book, Capacity: The New Advantage, and my workshops help leaders move beyond firefighting and time management into practices that remodel effort, align competing work styles, and expand productivity.
Managers don’t need more tools; they need clarity and capacity. That means:
Recognizing competing work styles and turning them into complementary strengths.
Directing effort with intention rather than reacting to noise.
Building engagement through respect, trust, and practical alignment.
Why This Matters Now
Psychology Today warns that disengagement is creating an “illusion of stability”. The real cost of ignoring this will come when the labor market shifts again: high performers and underrepresented talent will walk away, leaving companies scrambling to rebuild both momentum and trust.
Organizations that invest in leadership capacity now will avoid that reckoning — and instead, position themselves to thrive in the future of work.
Final Thought
Managers don’t need to stay stuck, and employees don’t need to remain disengaged. With the right focus on capacity, organizations can break free of the illusion and build teams that are both productive and engaged.
📖 Read more about this in my book, Capacity: The New Advantage, or connect with me to bring this conversation into your organization.