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The evidence

The data doesn't lie.

Everything taught at Beyond Just Leadership is grounded in research. This is the evidence base — the studies and statistics that make the case for investing in your people and the leaders who lead them.

Updated June 2026

The Manager Gap

Most people become managers because they were great individual contributors. Nobody taught them how to lead.

82%
Of new managers have never received formal leadership training
The Chartered Management Institute surveyed 4,500+ workers and managers and found that the overwhelming majority of people who enter management roles do so without any formal preparation. They called them "accidental managers" — people who were great at their job, then handed a team and left to figure it out.
Chartered Management Institute / YouGov · Read the research →
85%
Of new people managers receive no formal training
Korn Ferry research confirms the pattern holds globally and across industries. The promotion-to-preparation gap is not a niche problem — it is the default operating model for most organizations.
Fast Company / Korn Ferry Research · Read the research →
83%
Of trained managers feel confident in their role
Compared to 71% of untrained managers. Training doesn't just help performance — it changes how leaders experience their own role. Confidence is not a personality trait. It's a product of preparation.
Chartered Management Institute / YouGov · Read the research →
1 in 3
Workers have left a job due to an untrained manager
The same CMI research found that accidental managers — those without formal training — are directly contributing to voluntary attrition. Poor management isn't just an internal culture problem. It's a retention crisis.
Chartered Management Institute / YouGov · Read the research →

The Cost of Poor Leadership

Disengagement and turnover aren't HR problems. They're leadership problems — and they carry real dollar signs.

21%
Global employee engagement — tied for a post-pandemic low
Gallup's 2025 survey found that only 1 in 5 employees worldwide is engaged at work. Engagement has been falling for two consecutive years. The primary driver: manager quality.
Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2025 · Read the research →
70%
Of engagement variance is explained by the manager alone
Not compensation. Not culture initiatives. Not the brand. Gallup's analysis of 100,000+ workplace interviews found that the manager accounts for roughly 70% of the variance in team engagement scores.
Gallup (analysis of 100,000+ interviews) · Read the research →
$438B
Lost to disengagement annually in the U.S. alone
Gallup's 2025 estimate of the direct productivity cost of disengaged employees. This figure doesn't include turnover, absenteeism, or the downstream effects on customer experience and innovation.
Gallup 2025 · Read the research →
57%
Have quit a job because of their manager
Not because of the role. Not the company. The direct manager. More than half of people who have voluntarily left a job point to their manager as the primary reason — not pay, not benefits, not growth opportunity.
DDI Research · Read the research →
90%
Say their boss influenced their decision to leave
BambooHR's 2025 research found that 47% of those who left had actually loved their job — they just couldn't stand their manager. 58% cited management style as the single biggest reason for leaving.
BambooHR 2025 · Read the research →
$1T
Annual turnover cost to U.S. businesses
Replacing a single mid-level employee costs between 125% and 150% of their annual salary when you account for recruiting, onboarding, productivity loss, and team disruption. Multiply that across an organization and the number becomes staggering.
SHRM / Gallup / HR Research

The Science of Teams

What research actually tells us about what makes teams effective — and what gets in the way.

#1 Factor
Psychological safety — Google's Project Aristotle
Google spent two years analyzing 180 teams and 250+ attributes to understand what makes teams perform. The single strongest predictor had nothing to do with credentials or raw talent. It was psychological safety — how safe people felt to take interpersonal risks. Teams with high psychological safety were rated effective twice as often. The leader sets that environment.
Google re:Work / Project Aristotle · Read the research →
85%
Of employees have withheld critical information from their manager
Nearly 9 in 10 employees have chosen to stay silent rather than risk the consequences of speaking up. That silence delays decisions, hides problems, and slows teams down — in ways directly traceable to the quality of leadership.
Edmondson & Detert, Harvard Business School
2×
More effective — teams with high psychological safety
The Project Aristotle data showed that teams where people felt safe to speak up, admit mistakes, and take risks were rated significantly more effective by senior leaders. The environment the manager creates is the performance variable.
Google re:Work / Project Aristotle · Read the research →
74%
Of employees say their manager's behavior directly affects their mental health
The manager relationship is one of the most significant workplace factors affecting employee wellbeing — more than workload, compensation, or role clarity. Leadership quality is a health issue, not just a performance issue.
American Psychological Association — Work in America Survey · Read the research →

The Return on Better Leadership

What happens when organizations actually invest in developing the people who lead their people.

$7:$1
Average ROI on leadership development investment
A survey of 752 leadership development experts found that organizations investing in formal leadership training consistently see returns across revenue growth, employee retention, and productivity improvement — with an average $7 return for every $1 spent.
New Level Work / DDI Research · Read the research →
3×
Stock market outperformance by companies that invest in their people
Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For generated 13.4% annualized returns vs. 9.2% for the Russell 3000 index — measured over 28 years. Organizations known for strong leadership culture consistently outperform those that don't prioritize it.
Great Place to Work · Read the research →
80%
Reduction in salaried turnover after structured leadership development
One organization tracked an 80% reduction in salaried employee turnover after launching a structured leadership development program. This is not a soft outcome. The cost savings from reduced turnover alone typically fund the program many times over.
New Level Work ROI Study 2023 · Read the research →

Want to put this into practice?

The data points to one thing: better managers change everything. That's exactly what the People-First Leadership program is built to do.

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