While doing some research for future Same Team offerings, I came across The Plague of Mediocre Leadership. My left eyebrow raised signaling my intrigue because after having suffered through mediocre leadership myself I desired to learn more.
Research has shown that, from as long ago as 2014, 82% of managers lack the talent to be effective in their jobs, and the evidence has become more robust since, where engagement data (arguably the best proxy for management and leadership effectiveness) has barely moved in 10 years, and in the last year has dropped significantly.
A few minutes after I read that paragraph, I regained consciousness and got up off the floor. Eighty? Two? Percent? I know the field of leadership is statistically bad, but that’s a staggering number. You don’t need high school algebra to figure out that’s a huge number.
Given the motivations of so many to climb the corporate ladder into top management and leadership positions, there is a huge disconnect. Our research into top-performing leadership and management targets this disconnect, and our analysis revealed the talents that the very best leaders and managers possessed. We call them the “Five Talents That Really Matter.” In them, we captured and described these characteristic traits and dispositions as follows: Setting Direction, Harnessing Energy, Exerting Pressure, Building Connectivity, and Directing Traffic. Having distilled these five talents from studying the very best leaders, and then assessing everyone else (58k and counting), the vast majority fall well short. Only 4% score in the top quartile. Forty eight score in the bottom quartile. Mediocrity clearly rules.
Ok. Round two. Eyes are open. I’m alive and I’m breathing. I just need to get up off the floor and back to writing this post.
Only? Four? Percent? Are you kidding me? I knew the leadership pool was bad, but no way would I have pegged it to be that bad. To put this another way 1 in 25 leaders who took the Five Talents survey were deemed fit for leadership.
Today’s leaders inherited most, if not all, aspects of their poor skills through what they previously observed—how they were led. Their perspectives on leadership are tainted by prior work history. In other words, poor leaders aren’t born, theyare taught. Yes, there are the chosen ones with full-on narcissism and those who have an innate ability to exercise empathy—they can’t be helped—but a lot of bad leaders are okay people, they just suck at their job. I believe this is because most workplaces do not have a clear rubric or archetype—roles and responsibilities—they can use to hold leaders accountable. To further compound the problem, few workplaces provide safe spaces and times to provide clear, actionable feedback to leaders who need improvement. No, your pulse survey does not count.
The best way to build better is to start having constructive conversations. It should not be a mystery that our first physical product is a deck of cards that drive clear, meaningful, and productive conversations between team members and leadership. In my experience and from data we have seen through our Teamangle Diagnostic, there is always a disconnect between leadership and team sentiment. Maybe not across the board, but enough that the misalignment requires a healthy conversation.
Earlier this year, I gave one of our beta card decks to my wife on her way out the door to a team offsite. It was their first get-together after months of long work days, bad communication, and little collaboration, with never-ending requests and pivots. The tension in the team was palpable and my wife didn’t know what to expect going in. At breakfast, she showed the card deck to her boss just as her boss’s boss sat down at the table. Within seconds, the executive asked if he could use the deck for their team conversation later in the day. Using the cards and the framework for conversation they were able to talk openly and honestly, giving the leaders perspectives they had not considered before. Knowing where the team and the leadership were misaligned the group was able to turn their focus on how to improve the situation. Everyone participated, nobody got upset, and progress was made. You would be surprised by how much power there is in The More You Know. It’s real.
Poor leadership can be fixed, but not in a vacuum, and not without direction and accountability. Leadership doesn’t have to be a tale of mediocrity passed from one generation to the next. With tools that foster open conversations, create accountability, and drive alignment, we can bridge the gap between intention and impact. It starts with acknowledging the problem, addressing it head-on, and equipping teams with what they need to build a culture of trust and growth. Better leadership isn’t just possible—it’s necessary. And we are here and available to help.
