Leadership development: who supports those who lead teams?

We ask a lot of people who lead teams.

We expect them to deliver results, support their teams, manage conflicts, have difficult conversations and drive change within their organisations.

Sometimes all in the same week.

But what opportunities do they have to share their own challenges, talk through decisions or ask for help?

According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 report, the percentage of engaged managers worldwide fell from 31% in 2022 to 22% in 2025.

This raises an important question: are we doing enough to support the people we expect to support and look after their teams?

WHY DOES LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT REQUIRE MORE THAN TRAINING?

When we think about leadership development, we often focus on learning how to give feedback, manage conflict, delegate or communicate more effectively.

And all of that matters.

But leading a team also means dealing with situations that don't always have a clear answer.

How do you approach a difficult conversation? What do you do when two team members are in conflict? How do you guide a team through a change that some people are reluctant to accept?

These are situations that rarely have a straightforward solution.

That's why leadership development needs more than occasional training. People also need opportunities to reflect on their everyday experiences, share challenges and learn from one another.

LEADERSHIP PEER GROUPS: LEARNING THROUGH SHARED CHALLENGES

When we work with managers and team leaders, we see how valuable it can be to bring together people who lead different teams but face similar challenges.

These spaces give them the opportunity to discuss real situations, explore different perspectives, talk through decisions and learn how others have approached similar difficulties.

Sometimes, the most valuable thing is simply being able to say:

“I'm not sure how to handle this.”

And discovering that others have asked themselves the same question.

That's what we aim to create through leadership peer groups: spaces for shared learning where people in leadership roles can support one another, try new approaches and learn from their own experiences.

When these meetings take place regularly, participants can put what they've learnt into practice with their teams and return with new questions.

This approach to leadership development is also reflected in our work with organisations such as Egile, where we have supported managers through an ongoing leadership development programme.

LEADERSHIP SHOULDN'T BE A LONELY RESPONSIBILITY

A leadership peer group won't eliminate conflict or difficult decisions.

But it can make an important difference: people no longer have to face every challenge on their own.

Perhaps we've spent too much time defining what a good leader should be and too little time asking what people need to lead well.

Training will always have its place. But so will ongoing support, peer learning and opportunities to think things through together.

Maybe the challenge isn't to expect people to become extraordinary leaders.

Maybe it's to create the right conditions for them to lead effectively.

Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026, p. 7.