A Fish Rots from the Head. The Latest Gallup Data Proves It.

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The latest Employee Engagement report from Gallup landed, and what it tells us, I think is quite sobering…

 

Global employee engagement has now fallen for the second consecutive year, sitting at just 20%. In Australia, we are at 21% (down 2 points).

 

That means 4 in every 5 people going to work every day are either switched off or actively miserable ☹

 

Four in five. Let that sit for a moment.

 

Disengagement is not just a number on a report. It has a face.

 

It is the person who used to bounce ideas around in meetings and now sits quietly, avoiding eye contact.

 

The one who used to stay back without being asked, who now watches the clock.

 

The enthusiastic new hire whose energy slowly drains away because nobody noticed what they needed.

 

Disengagement does not arrive loudly. It creeps in.

 

It looks like missed deadlines, it feels like a team that stops celebrating wins, and sounds like silence where there used to be conversation.

 

There is an old saying, “A fish rots from the head.”

 

Culture is not built from the bottom up. It flows from the top down. And the Gallup findings make this impossible to ignore, revealing.

 

The sharpest decline was not among employees. It was among managers, down nine percentage points since 2022.

 

When the people leading the team stop believing, it seeps into the culture until disengagement becomes the new normal.

 

That is not a management failure; it’s a human one.

 

For me, this is where the real work begins. People do not want to be managed; they want to be understood.

 

They want to know that the role they are in was chosen for them thoughtfully, not filled out of urgency. That someone considered:

 

  • Who they are and how they think.
  • What brings out their best.
  • Where they are most likely to thrive.

 

It’s a question that needs to be answered before the role is filled, not after. And answering it well takes a blend of three things:

 

The insider knowledge of the hiring manager, the science of objective assessment, and a genuine curiosity about the human being in front of you. Get that combination right, and everything changes.

 

Engagement is not a programme you roll out. It is a feeling. And it begins at the top.

 

What are you witnessing on the ground? Are you seeing the “manager burnout” Gallup describes in your industry? I would genuinely love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Every Hire Has a Heartbeat.

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An article I came across this week got me thinking.

 

HRD Australia published an interesting piece stating that gut feel hiring is out and structure is in. They’re right. And it’s something I’ve lived on both sides of.

 

Over my career, I’ve hired a lot of people. In the early years, like most, I relied on instinct, a strong interview, and a good feeling across the table.

 

Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn’t.

 

And when it didn’t, I felt it.

 

Many hiring managers will have heard the expression a “warm body”;  a hiring approach where the primary goal is to fill a position quickly with anyone who is available. I was never a big fan of that approach. Behind every new hire is a person, a family, a mortgage, a set of hopes about what this new chapter might bring. When it doesn’t work out, real lives are affected. I never forgot that.

 

So, when the feedback started coming in about a struggling new hire, I took it personally. I then invested time, and energy, trying to make it work. Not every manager does that. Some cut quickly and move on. I understand that approach, but it was never mine.

 

What I kept asking myself was, what did we miss? What did the recruitment team overlook in the selection process? Could we have onboarded differently, trained more intentionally, set clearer expectations from day one?

 

The honest answer, more often than not, was yes.

 

In the past ten years, that has changed significantly. Today, we use psychometric assessments and spend time upfront benchmarking a role; identifying the precise requirements, the skills, the attributes, the behaviours that genuinely drive success in that position.

 

When a hire does struggle now, we can clearly identify the gaps. We can make an informed decision about whether those gaps can be closed and how. That clarity changes everything, for the business and for the person.

 

To be honest, we still have times when a person doesn’t work out, but it’s rare for us now. Not because we got lucky, but because we got structured.

 

Gut feel had its place. But every hire has a heartbeat. And heartbeats deserve better than a yes or no decision based on a feeling.

 

I’d love to hear your experience. What’s one hire that taught you the most, for better or worse? Share your story in the comments.

I Sat Down To Write A Post And Then I Stopped

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I sat down this week to write a post about leadership.

 

And then I stopped.

 

In times like these, rising costs, global uncertainty, the constant noise of the news cycle, the usual conversations about growth and strategy feel a little hollow. Not because they don’t matter. But because people matter more.

 

The leaders I admire most aren’t the ones who lean hardest on the data. They’re the ones who know when to put the report down and simply be present with the person in front of them.

 

Uncertainty is exhausting.

 

Trying to make good decisions about people, whether you’re building a team, navigating change, or simply trying to support those around you, takes more than it gets credit for.

 

If you’re finding it heavy right now, that’s not weakness. That’s awareness.

 

And awareness is what this moment is calling for… whether you’re leading a large multinational or a small family business. Heightened awareness shapes better strategies, clearer decisions, and more human actions.

 

That feels like the real work right now.

 

I’d love to know, what are you finding most useful, or most challenging, in how you’re supporting your people through this period?

 

Share your experience in the comments. Let’s learn from each other.