![\"Top](\"https:\/\/cake.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Top-10-leadership-statistics-1110x583.jpg\")
Crucial statistics on leadership hiring and training<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is leadership a talent or a skill? How many qualified people take on a leadership role?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These stats paint a better picture of how difficult it is to find the right person for a management position and how often managers fulfill their roles without training. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Companies don\u2019t choose the right person for the management job in 82% of cases<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
According to research by Gallup<\/a>, an alarming percentage (82%) of organizations don\u2019t succeed at picking a suitable candidate with the right talent for a managerial position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gallup also reports reasons why managers were picked for their leadership roles. The most common answers? Being successful at their non-managerial positions and being a part of the company for a long time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, not picking managers based on their leadership skills might be why companies frequently fail to choose the right candidate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another interesting stat from the same Gallup research is that just 1 in 10 US adults actually possess a talent to manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A more positive, but still not too comforting number is that 2 in 10 people have some basic managerial characteristics. This means they have the potential to become good managers with proper coaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A recent CMI report on UK managers<\/a> shows that 82% of supervisors were \u201caccidental managers\u201d. This means they didn\u2019t have any kind of leadership training or preparation for their managerial roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, 33% of current managers still haven\u2019t received any management and leadership training. The number is slightly lower but still high for senior management \u2014 26% of them never received formal management training. <\/p>\n\n\n \n Scale your business with CAKE.com tools<\/p>\n \n Increase productivity and grow your organization with Clockify, Pumble, and Plaky.<\/p>\n \n What are the qualities of a good leader? Let\u2019s see what employees think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A 2024 Harvard Business Publishing study<\/a> explored the key competencies workers think leaders should have. Nearly half (48%) of them believe a leader has to be socially and emotionally intelligent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the second most important leadership quality. The first one, picked by 50% of workers, is the ability to connect the team with the organization’s purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further reading<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being a manager doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re also a leader. Find the key differences between leadership and management in this blog post:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another essential leadership quality explored in the Harvard Business Publishing study is the ability to handle conflicts within the team<\/a>. As many as 44% of workers think conflict management should fall on their leader; therefore, leaders need to be able to mitigate any issues that arise within the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A good manager should also provide clarity and direction in dynamic, unpredictable circumstances. This is important for 40% of employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many workers (37%) believe their leader should know how to increase and maintain their engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are other crucial management qualities mentioned in the Harvard Business Publishing study:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are leaders happy at their jobs? Do they feel more stressed than before?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s find out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Leaders\u2019 engagement levels are at an all-time low, the 2024 Gallup Leadership Research reports<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In November 2024, only 31% of managers were engaged. In comparison, the percentage of engaged leaders sat at 34% in November 2023. The numbers were even higher for previous years: 36% in 2021 and 38% in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The same Gallup research also reports extremely low job satisfaction levels for managers. While this number remained the same since 2023, leadership contentment was much higher in previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, in 2020, 26% of leaders were satisfied with their job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the CAKE.com Women in Tech Report, the majority (75.29%) of female tech leaders are satisfied with how they\u2019re juggling their personal and professional commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of them, 25.29% are very satisfied, while 50% are somewhat satisfied with their work-life balance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For 71% of people, taking on a leadership role contributed to their stress levels, 2025 DDI research shows<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To put things in perspective, in 2022, 63% of managers reported higher stress levels than before. Thus, it seems that leaders nowadays face more pressure when taking on this responsibility than a few years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same DDI research also showed that only a small percentage of managers (30%) have enough time to properly carry out their responsibilities. The main reasons for this issue include inadequate time allocation and the lack of information and tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further reading<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you know that 47% of employees spend up to 5 hours of their day looking for specific information? Explore other interesting knowledge management stats in this blog post:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The DDI study found a direct correlation between the lack of resources and time with burnout<\/a>, showcasing the importance of mitigating managerial challenges before it\u2019s too late. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More than half of the people in leadership positions are emotionally exhausted and are close to burning out, the same DDI study reports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, it comes as no surprise that 40% of them have considered quitting in the past year as the direct result of the increased stress levels they\u2019re experiencing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Gallup Leadership Research we mentioned also found that more than half (56%) of managers are currently searching for a new job. The number of people wanting a change has never been higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In comparison, in 2019, 44% of leaders were seeking a new job. The number sat at 46% in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A crucial leadership aspect is the quality of their relationship with the people they\u2019re leading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These stats showcase the state of the employee-leader relationship and whether employees feel they\u2019re being properly managed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a 2025 Inpulse study<\/a>, leaders who support their teams have 3.4 times more engaged workers<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trusting your employees has the same result. Based on the same study, workers whose managers trust them are 53% more likely to be engaged at their workplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Further reading<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Struggling with employee engagement? These tips may help:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In their 2025 Global Leadership Report<\/a>, Gallup explored the key aspects of a positive relationship between a follower and a leader, both political and organizational. The study highlighted the value of building trust<\/a> and fostering a positive leader-follower relationship, with 33% of employees deeming it important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Compassion is significant for 7% of study participants, while stability is important for 4%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Further reading<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good leadership communication is crucial for a positive employee-manager relationship. Learn more about what it means to be a proper leader here:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The DDI study we previously mentioned explored how employees view their leadership. It found that only 29% of them trust their immediate manager. This is a 17% decrease from 2022!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study also highlighted that younger employees trust their managers more. For example, 36% of workers aged between 25 and 34 have faith in their supervisors. On the other hand, only 26% of those in the 50\u201364 age group trust their leader. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Further reading<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generational differences are also present in other workplace aspects. Here\u2019s how Gen Z, in particular, changed the way we work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The above-mentioned Gallup Leadership Research established that only 20% of employees feel their performance is managed in a way that enables them to perform great work. This is a 2% decrease from 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The confidence in managers was the highest in 2020 when 24% of employees believed their management was setting them up for success.<\/p>\n\n\n \n Scale your business with CAKE.com tools<\/p>\n \n Increase productivity and grow your organization with Clockify, Pumble, and Plaky.<\/p>\n \n Further reading<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the ways managers can ensure employees are motivated to perform better is by providing them feedback. Here are ways to make feedback more effective: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Less than a third (29%) of workers believe their leaders are supportive of them, the same Gallup research reports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, 31% of employees believe their supervisor has created an open and trusting work environment. And, just 27% think their manager is keeping them informed on what\u2019s happening in the organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A recent LinkedIn Market Research<\/a> showcased the importance of good management<\/a>. It found that 7 in 10 US employees would resign if they had a bad leader. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The percentages are even larger for younger generations. Namely, 75% of Gen Zers and 77% of Millennials would leave a job because of poor management. The same is true for 68% of Gen X and 61% of Baby Boomers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The abovementioned CMI report showed that 28% of UK workers already left their previous jobs due to a bad relationship with their supervisor. The report also states that 50% of employees who don\u2019t have a good relationship with their manager plan to quit within the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rate of leaving due to poor leadership is just as high for managers. Namely, as many as 31% of people in managerial positions resigned because of a bad relationship with the leadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If these stats have taught us anything it\u2019s that having good leadership is essential for job satisfaction and employee engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, a good leader is hard to come by \u2014 most workers don\u2019t believe their manager possesses the right skills to lead and motivate them. And, the fact that the majority of people don\u2019t go through any kind of training before taking on a management role isn\u2019t helping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, we can expect more positive leadership numbers when companies start preparing their employees for leadership roles. In the words of D. Wayne Calloway, business executive and former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, from a CNN interview: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll bet most of the companies that are in life-or-death battles got into that kind of trouble because they didn\u2019t pay enough attention to developing their leaders.\u201d<\/em> – Dr. Wayne Calloway<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Find crucial leadership statistics for 2025, including what qualities make a good leader and the state of employee-leader relationships today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":3367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports-and-stats"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n1 in 10 people have the talent to manage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
82% of managers didn\u2019t receive training before taking on their roles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Scale](\"https:\/\/cake.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/banner-standard.png\")
\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n\n\nWhat qualities make a good leader?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
48% of employees believe their leaders need to be emotionally intelligent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
44% of workers think their leader should be able to manage team conflicts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
37% of employees believe a manager\u2019s job is to engage employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"What](\"https:\/\/cake.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/What-makes-a-good-leader-according-to-employees-1110x583.jpg\")
How do leaders feel at their workplace?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Only 31% of leaders are engaged in their workplace<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Just 18% of managers are satisfied with their jobs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
75.29% of women in leadership positions are satisfied with their work-life balance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
71% of leaders report higher stress levels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
30% of leaders feel they have enough time to complete their tasks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
54% of leaders are worried about burnout <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
56% of managers are actively looking for a new job<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Stats on the quality of employee-leader relationships <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Workers supported by their managers are 53% more engaged <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/cake.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/The-quality-of-employee-leader-relationships-1110x583.jpg\")
33% of workers believe trust is essential to a positive relationship<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Only 29% of employees trust their immediate supervisor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Just 20% of workers feel they\u2019re managed properly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n
29% of employees feel supported by their managers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7 in 10 employees would quit due to a bad manager<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
28% of employees resigned because of a poor relationship with their manager<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A good leader equals an engaged, happy workforce <\/h2>\n\n\n\n