The Cost of Neglecting New Managers

The hidden turnover and engagement risks that come with not supporting your new managers

When it comes to leadership development, organisations often focus on senior leaders or high-potential executives. But, what about the one who have just landed their very first leadership role, transitioning from peer to manager?

This moment is crucial in anyone’s career. It shapes careers, teams, and entire organisations, to not mention the way these people will manager their teams for years (and decades) to come. For this reason, neglecting new managers carries a hidden ripple effect that not only hurts the individual, but the entire organisation.

Why New Managers Matter So Much

New managers directly oversee the majority of employees in an organisation. They are the ones who set the tone, shape culture at team level, and influence the day-to-day engagement. Their ability to lead effectively can mean the difference between a motivated, high-performing and productive team and one that struggles and drags the organisation with it.

The Hidden Costs of Neglecting New Managers

When new managers don’t get support:

• Turnover increases. Team members often leave because of poor management, not the company itself. One person alone can damage an entire team with great individuals and brilliant potential, not only costing constant setbacks on the productivity, but also costing a lot of money to the company. The average cost to replace an employee these days is around £30K, and when it comes to highly specialised individuals, around 200% of their annual salary.
• Engagement drops. A manager who avoids giving feedback, struggles to delegate and lacks empathy and compassion creates confusion and frustration among the team. When objectives keep on changing, feedback is always negative or vague (or inexistant!) and you are even asked “how are you feeling” after a week of sick leave, motivation and engagement will usually start dropping, creating a team of people who just does the bare minimum.
• Performance suffers. Without the right skills, new managers will not be able to unlock the real potential of their team. I have seen this lots of times in my career: manager wants to get all the credit, so gets the team to work as their minions to make them look like the hero who saved the day. This ends up affecting the team’s performance because their manager is not making the most of their strengths and ambitions, they are just “using” them to their advantage.

The tricky part of these is that these costs rarely show up on one line in the budget. They appear as higher recruitment spend, reduced productivity, or missed opportunities, but most organisations don’t want (or have the time) to dig deeper into what is the root cause.

The Domino Effect on Culture

The thing is that a poorly (or not at all) prepared manager doesn’t just affect their team, they will have a huge ripple effect through the organisation. Bad habits spread quicker than the good ones (yes, that’s a bummer…) and, if employees feel they are not supported or that their manager takes all the credit, they will lose trust in leadership as a whole. This erodes culture over time.

But let’s also mention that, if employees and other management see someone getting away with certain behaviour, they will either start doing the same or will slowly lose any motivation to do a job well done.

What Organisations Can Do Differently

Handing someone a management title and a training manual is not even close to be enough. Real growth will only happen when managers have:

• A safe space to reflect and learn about their challenges, setbacks and projects.
• Practical coaching to apply concepts in real-life situations and reflect on them.
• Ongoing development that ensures continuity, not one-off workshops to tick the box.

Investing in new managers is not a “nice to have.” It’s risk management, culture building, and long-term talent retention.

If your organisation wants to reduce turnover, boost engagement, and strengthen its leadership pipeline, I would love to talk about how my coaching programme Lead with Confidence can support your new managers from day one, by providing them a space for learning, growth, self-reflection and support.