The Leadership Disconnect: Why Engagement Isn’t Enough

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Hey Spark Family,

If you’ve noticed your team’s energy dipping lately, you’re not alone.
Across industries, engagement is falling - again.

According to Gallup’s 2025 Global Workplace Report, only 21% of employees are actively engaged at work, and just one in three say they’re thriving in their overall wellbeing. At the same time, leaders are reporting record levels of burnout, pressure, and disconnection.

Here’s the reality:
We’ve measured engagement for two decades, but we haven’t solved for connection - the everyday trust, care, and belonging that keep people motivated long after the metrics fade.

The Research Is Clear

➡ Only 21% of employees are engaged globally, while 62% are emotionally detached and 17% are actively disengaged. (Gallup, 2025)

➡ Teams led by managers who build genuine relationships experience 59% lower turnover and *44% higher profitability. (Gallup, 2025)

➡ Yet in DDI’s 2025 Global Leadership Forecast, nearly 60% of leaders said they rarely make time to build connection - citing “lack of bandwidth” as the biggest barrier.

The data tells a simple story:
Leaders don’t need another engagement initiative. They need to reconnect - to their people, to purpose, and to what actually matters.

What I'm Seeing In The Field

In coaching sessions, I hear it over and over:
Leaders feel like they’re doing everything right - checking in, setting goals, running meetings - yet their teams still feel disconnected.

What’s missing isn’t effort. It’s energy.
Human energy.

The best leaders I work with have realized that engagement doesn’t start with surveys or perks. It starts with presence - how you show up in each conversation, how you make people feel seen, and how consistently you link their contributions back to impact.

Connection fuels engagement.
​And connection takes intention.

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What We Teach Leaders Inside Spark Brilliance

At Spark Brilliance, we help leaders move from managing engagement to creating connection through three key shifts:

🔹 From Metrics to Meaning: Replace “How’s work going?” with “What part of your work matters most right now?”
🔹 From Check-ins to Care-ins: Listen for emotion, not just output. Validation fuels belonging.
🔹 From Recognition to Resonance: Don’t just thank people for what they do. Reflect back the difference they make.

When connection becomes a leadership habit, engagement becomes the natural outcome.

🌟 Your Challenge This Week

Choose one relationship - at work or in life - where you’ve been operating on autopilot.
Pause. Reconnect. Ask one meaningful question that goes beyond results.

Because the truth is this:
​Engagement doesn’t drive connection. Connection drives engagement.

With gratitude,
​Jackie

P.S. – If this message resonated, hit reply and tell me one way you’re intentionally creating connection with your team this month - I’d love to feature a few in next week’s newsletter. ✨

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