The Engagement Paradox: Leaders want it most and feel it least
Photo by Franco Antonio Giovanella on Unsplash
“You don’t have an engagement problem. You have a listening problem.” - Kylee Stone
The latest 2026 Gallup Workplace Report tells us engagement is at its lowest point since 2020 - and the cost is staggering.
Everyone wants greater engagement.
And yet, the latest report reveals a paradox…
For over two decades, global engagement has hovered around 20%.
We haven’t had an engagement problem.
We’ve had a leadership one.
We're asking leaders to lead the mission to uplift engagement; but the very people we rely on to motivate others are among the most disengaged.
Let's sit with that for a moment.
The people responsible for engagement are among the most disengaged themselves.
Manager engagement has declined sharply; stress, loneliness and emotional fatigue are no longer edge cases, they are the dominant experience for many leaders.
Now, you didn't need a global workforce report to tell you what you already know.
Look no further than your own experience, or your own companies engagement studies.
What the data doesn’t explicitly say, but what leaders feel every day:
You cannot engage others, when you're disconnected yourself.
This isn’t a failure of effort.
It's not a lack of care, commitment or capability.
It’s certainly not because leaders “don’t get it”.
Quite the opposite, they get it and they've been getting it for decades.
There's one blindingly obvious reason:
It’s because leaders are operating above the surface, responding to what they see - rewarding output over alignment, speed over sense‑making and performance over presence.
But behaviour, and in-deed performance, doesn't shift if we see - it comes from what lies beneath the surface in the hidden beliefs, decisions and values.
The quiet contradiction leaders are living with every day.
I see the same pattern emerging. Capable, values‑driven people who:
want their teams to feel energised and connected
want work to feel meaningful again
want to lead in a way that reflects who they are
And yet, they are:
exhausted
stretched thin
leading on autopilot without even seeing it.
The most common blindspot, an uncomfortable truth we rarely admit, or in some cases aren't aware of: believing your values are what matters to you, rather than what you consistently bring.
Values aren’t something you choose when it’s convenient, they’re something you hold when it’s not. If they don’t hold, they’re not values — they’re preferences.
What Indigenous Wisdom teaches US.
As an Aboriginal woman, I carry a cultural wisdom that long predates leadership frameworks and feels profoundly relevant to the challenges leaders are experiencing.
A leader is not the person who is expected to have all the answers.
A leader is not expected to have the loudest voice.
A leader is not someone who makes the fastest decisions.
A leader is someone who creates an environment where people are heard, valued, appreciated and empowered.
An empowered environment is one where people are trusted to think, supported to act, invited to contribute and choose to lead themselves with ownership and integrity.
It starts with listening.
Not listening to respond. Not listening to fix. Not listening to solve.
But rather, listening to understand.
Listening with purpose.
Listening deeply is not passive; it's an act of intention.
When leaders pause long enough to listen, to themselves and those around them, something shifts:
anxiety softens
trust strengthens
meaning returns
ideas spark
performance lifts
growth accelerates
This is human-centred leadership at its finest.
And in times of complexity, it is the most strategic move available.
Why engagement efforts keep missing the mark
Engagement strategies are failing because they keep focussing on what lies above the surface, in repeating what we know, doing more and expecting more.
More tools. More surveys. More conversations. More initiatives layered onto leaders who are already at capacity - exhausted, overwhelmed and managing rather than leading.
Engagement doesn’t live in what a leader does for their people, it lives in the moments where leaders:
are present instead of rushed
challenging their own assumptions
listening instead of reacting, and
creating meaningful connections
Engagement is not created by what leaders roll out. It is created by how they listen.
The one thing in your control: LISTEN UP.
You may not have any control over organisational change, restructures or job losses.
You may not have any control over AI disruption.
You may not have any control over the future of the economy and the impact it has on the business and your team.
But you do have control this:
Who you choose to be in the moments that matter.
Leadership is driven by a series of habits; your mission is to replace old habits with new practices.
One radical, but deceptively simple act of leadership is the practice of:
Listening deeply.
Without any agenda, assumptions, bias, opinion or judgement, interruption or need to fix or change the person, or situation.
Listen to understand.
Listen to connect values.
Listen with purpose.
This is not about hearing the words people speak; it's about creating space to reflect, be curious and connect to the meaning, value and purpose behind what's said.
What we say, and do, is only one part of the picture. Real power lies hidden beneath the surface in the principles, ideals, standards and VALUES.
My invitation to every leader. Before your next conversation, or next meeting, pause and ask:
What is the purpose / objective (desired outcome)?
What does success look like?
What am I listening for?
When leaders listen differently, people experience leadership differently.
When that happens, engagement stops being something we chase.
It becomes something that emerges.
Kylee x
Kylee Stone is the Founder & CEO of The Performance Code with a proven reputation as a high-performance Brand Builder, Growth Strategist and Leadership Coach specialising in transformation - shifting leadership from position to practice.
She is an Aboriginal woman with connections to Kulluli, Waka Waka and Eora Nations, with over 25 years’ experience in storytelling grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.
A highly engaging speaker, facilitator and coach, she works with leaders to align strategy, people and purpose — creating the conditions for connection, performance and accelerated growth.
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2026 Gallup Workplace - At a Glance
Global employee engagement has fallen to ~20% — the lowest level since 2020
Engagement has hovered around 20–23% globally for over two decades
Managers — responsible for the majority of team engagement — are now among the fastest declining in engagement
Despite billions invested in engagement strategies, the underlying pattern has barely shifted
(Source: Gallup Workplace Report 2026)
