Managers under the microscope

I’m catching up on a few recent internal communication reports and I see that people managers are in the spotlight once again, with little sign of a solution to support them. 

PR Daily ‘s report on six internal communication trends cites manager comms as the top priority. The recent IC Index 2026 highlights the importance of informed and engaged managers, but says that many managers aren’t helping their people make sense of things. Gallagher’s IC State of Sector 2026 identifies managers as the ‘missing channel’, with 87% of respondents highlighting manager capability as a risk.

These could be themes from reports a decade or more ago. Numerous studies have highlighted the problem, yet a solution seems strangely out of reach.

Why?

There will be different factors in different places. However, at the heart of it, I’ve always thought, is that the scale (or at least anticipated scale) of the problem inhibits action. The fear that trying to make progress would soak up too much time, effort and resources. The view that faster and more demonstrable results can be achieved in other areas (maybe with a shiny new tool or platform…).

So we never quite move on, and the issue continues to fester.

Yet, there are interventions that can make a tangible difference in strengthening the communication culture, capabilities and – crucially – confidence of managers across an organisation.

Such actions must form part of a broad programme, which will require close collaboration with the likes of L&D. As communicators, we won’t (and can’t) own every element. However, we can be the instigators of clear and consistent focus on an issue that has remained unresolved for too long.