Last week, we talked about low manager engagement, in our post titled Manager Engagement Matters.

In that post, we pointed to a recent Gallup study about the global workplace. They found that the key to creating engaged managers (which in turn creates engaged employees!), is that company executives must invest time and money in training, educating, and coaching their managers.

Today, we’re providing you some additional suggestions for how you can invest in training for your managers, and then in the following two weeks we’ll cover educating and coaching.

What topics could the training cover?

Their role and responsibilities:

  • While a job description may have been your best guess at what the manager’s role will look like, oftentimes, it becomes outdated quickly.
  • It’s important to review the R&Rs at a few key points, to be sure it matches what the business needs and what the manager is doing (will be doing).
  • Consider the job description as a great foundation to kick off your first 1:1s, then use it quarterly for the first year, and then yearly after that.

Expectations and goals:

  • Some expectations and goals may come up as you’re reviewing the job description, and that’s great. AND, it’s important to make sure you’ve covered their top priorities.
  • Take some time to create documents for your managers, about what you expect from them. We suggest including their 30, 60, and 90-day goals, as well as what success will look like.

Accountability:

  • It’s important to let managers know how you’ll provide them feedback if they aren’t meeting their goals.
  • Discussing ways in which they can get support (and from whom) when they need it, will help them in tackling challenges successfully.

How and when might the training take place?

We suggest making weekly 1:1s a priority, so that you can collaborate on what success looks like, how they’re adapting to their role, what’s changed, or what should change.

In your meetings, you can check-in on the above topics with questions like:

  • What were your successes this past week?
  • What were your challenges?
  • What did you learn?
  • What are your suggestions for what you’ll focus on in the upcoming week?
  • What support do you need from me in order to be successful?

By setting specific time aside with your managers, and covering these foundational topics, you’re demonstrating to them that you care about them and that you value their contributions. They matter.

Stay tuned for next week’s post when we’ll cover suggestions for educating your managers on some foundational leadership topics.

If you’re interested in reading through Gallup’s report, click here to download a copy: 2025 State of the Global Workplace Report.

Let us know how your training is going!

If you’d like support
creating an engagement plan
for your managers,
contact us today.