Designing How Modern Work Actually Runs - Managers Cannot Improve What They Cannot See

By: Vivien Chong

Managers are often where organisational ambition meets daily reality.

• They receive the targets.
• They hear the concerns.
• They coordinate the work.
• They explain changes to the team.
• They follow up when progress slows.

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In many organisations, managers are expected to lead change, drive adoption, improve performance, support wellbeing, and keep work moving.
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But many managers have never been properly taught how to structure work.

They are expected to lead better, but they are not always given the visibility, structure, or rhythm to do so.

Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report found that manager engagement fell from 27% in 2024 to 22% in 2025. Gallup also notes that the decline in manager engagement contributed significantly to the broader drop in employee engagement.

This should make leaders pause.
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When managers are unclear, stretched, or unsupported, the effect does not stay with them.
It spreads through the team.

Many managers want to do better

In my experience, most managers are not trying to avoid responsibility.
Many want to do better.

They want to support their people.
They want to meet leadership expectations.
They want to improve execution.
They want the team to be more accountable.

But wanting to do better is not enough.

Without the right input and visibility, it is difficult for anyone to improve.

A manager cannot solve a bottleneck they cannot see.

They cannot correct drift if priorities are not visible.
They cannot coach ownership if responsibilities are unclear.
They cannot make timely decisions if updates are scattered across chats, meetings, spreadsheets, and memory.

When the work system is unclear, managers end up managing through follow-up.

They ask for updates again and again.
They depend on individual memory.
They repeat conversations from previous meetings.
They spend time chasing information instead of improving the work.
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This is tiring for managers.
It is also tiring for the team.

Three things managers need

From what I have seen, managers need three practical supports.

1. Visibility

Managers need to see what is happening.

Not every detail.

But enough to know whether work is moving, where attention is needed, and what may affect priorities.

Visibility should answer simple questions:

1. What is on track?
2. What is delayed?
3. Where are the blockers?
4. What decision is pending?
5. Who needs support?

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Without visibility, managers can only react late.

2. Structure

Managers also need clear structure.

This means the team understands who owns what, how work is handed over, where updates are recorded, and how decisions are followed through.
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Structure is not bureaucracy.

Good structure reduces confusion.

It helps people know where to look, what to update, and what they are responsible for.

When structure is weak, work depends too much on personality. The most responsible person carries more. The quiet gaps remain hidden. The business owner or senior leader becomes the final memory bank for everything.

That is not sustainable.

3. Rhythm

Managers need a rhythm for reviewing work.

This includes regular check-ins, useful reporting, focused meetings, and clear decision points.
Rhythm helps the team stay aligned.

Not because there are more meetings, but because the right conversations happen at the right time.

A good rhythm creates discipline without constant chasing.

People know when progress will be reviewed.
They know what needs to be prepared.
They know how issues will be raised.
They know decisions will be captured and followed through.

The SME challenge

In SMEs, managers are often promoted because they are reliable performers.

They know the business.
They work hard.
They solve problems.
They are trusted by the owner.

But being a strong individual contributor is not the same as being able to manage work across people.

As the organisation grows, managers need to shift from doing everything themselves to creating clarity for others.

This is not easy.

Especially when systems, roles, and workflows are still evolving.

That is why manager capability should not be treated only as a training issue. It is also a work design issue.
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Managers need an environment that helps them lead.

The one point to remember

Managers cannot improve what they cannot see.

If leaders want better execution, they need to give managers better visibility, clearer structure, and a healthier rhythm for managing work.

This does not always require a complex system.

It requires the discipline to make work visible enough for good conversations and timely decisions.

The question for leaders is not only:
“Are our managers capable?”

It may also be:
“Have we given our managers the structure they need to lead well?”

If your managers are carrying responsibility without enough visibility, our Modern Work Management Discovery Session can help uncover where work, updates, and decisions are getting lost.

The session gives leaders a clearer view of what managers need in order to lead execution with more confidence and less friction.

Reference

• State of the Global Workplace 2026 https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx