Summary: This article analyzes Gallup’s data on management talent and the impact of AI on leadership requirements. It argues that while technical management skills are becoming automated, human-centric coaching and communication skills are becoming the primary value drivers. The content advocates for leadership training for new managers as a strategic necessity for organizational relevance.

Gallup studied 2.5 million teams. The conclusion was shocking. Only 10% of managers naturally possess the talent to lead well. The other 90% require deliberate development to succeed.

Most companies ignore this. They take their best individual contributor, hand them a new title, and hope for the best. This is what is causing the huge global drop in workplace engagemement: untrained and disengaged managers. Train them, Gallup says, and we can unlock close to 10 trillion USD (!) in productivity.

The invisible cost of the management gap

When a promotion happens without leadership training for new managers, the team pays the price. You see it in the data. Performance slips. People stop speaking up in meetings. Eventually, your best talent leaves.

The pain is felt most by HR. You are left putting out fires caused by leaders who do not know how to lead. You deal with high absenteeism and the cost of high employee turnover.

The transition from peer to manager is not a step up a ladder. It is a complete change in craft. The technical skills that made them a top performer are now secondary.

Why AI makes human leadership non-negotiable

The rise of AI is rapidly devaluing technical expertise as a management cornerstone. When machines can handle data analysis, scheduling, and technical optimization, the demand for managers with purely hard skills will decrease. Conversely, the demand for strong communication and coaching skills will increase.

In an automated world, the only remaining competitive advantage for a leader is the ability to connect, inspire, and develop others. This shift makes leadership training even more important for companies and leaders that want to stay relevant. If you cannot coach, you will become obsolete.

Personal leadership as the foundation

Management is not about controlling others. It starts with personal leadership. A manager who cannot regulate their own stress or own their calendar will never build a high-performance team.

We often see “corporate theater” where managers pretend to have control while drowning in role ambiguity. Without a grounded philosophical approach to their new responsibility, they default to micromanagement or total avoidance.

How to reduce absenteeism and turnover

To fix the engagement crisis, leadership must be treated as a clinical skill.

1. Identify leadership potential before the promotion. Not every expert wants to manage people.
2. Implement evidence-based leadership programs. Focus on measurable ROI.
3. Provide leadership coaching for those in the first four years of their role. This is the critical window where habits are formed.
   

Conclusion

Leadership is not a reward for past performance. It is a service to the future of the organization. If your managers are struggling to delegate or fear giving feedback, they are not failing you. The system failed them by leaving them untrained.

Schedule a free introduction call here to discuss the possibilities for your company..

Summary: This article explores the “Help-Trap,” where leaders inadvertently hinder their team’s growth by providing all the answers. It explains how shifting focus to increasing team ownership and resourcefulness reduces manager burnout and builds long-term capability. By prioritizing independent thinking over short-term popularity, managers can transform from an “answering machine” into a catalyst for growth.

Many managers have some sense of what success looks like: generating output X or hitting a growth percentage Y. But they are often confused as to how to actually achieve that. They channel their energy towards short-term solutions and struggle with their team’s dramatically low sense of accountability and ownership.

When the team comes to them with a problem, the manager gives the answer. Problem solved. These are good intentions, but they are channeled incorrectly. It is short-term thinking. Well-intended, but ineffective long-term. Our ego’s love it though. I’ve been there many times. Nothing beats giving a smart answer and feeling useful.

The Thinking Manager

But this newsletter is for the Next Level Manager (NLM), the type of manager that works intentionally. They don’t just “do” management; they think deeply about what effective leadership actually is and how to help their team achieve their long-term goals.

They realize that in order to achieve those business goals, the development of their team’s capabilities is critical. Because they are the people that have to deliver those results. Help them become 20% more capable, and results can increase by 20%.

Strategies for Increasing Team Ownership

An essential driver behind that process is the amount of ownership and resourcefulness a team possesses. This is a dynamic metric, not a static one. You have influence over it. If you make increasing team ownership your objective, you will approach questions from your team differently.

This requires sacrifice. You might have to disappoint your team. You might even have to leave them hanging. You have to accept short-term hits to your popularity because you need to move away from giving them the answers to every question they bring you.

Avoiding the Dependency Cycle

Every time you offer an answer, you create a little more dependency. They see you as a little bit more important, and you are slowly setting yourself up for long-term failure. This is the Help-Trap. I have been on both sides: the trapper’s side and the trapée’s side. Both feel good short-term, but keep you stuck long-term. The more answers you give, the more questions will come your way, and the busier you will be. Many leaders who burn out are caught in this trap.

With the rise of AI, individual knowledge becomes less valuable. If you cling to being the person with all the answers, your position devalues over time. Instead, become a catalyst for your team’s learning. Instead of giving the answer, express your trust in their capabilities to find it themselves: “I know what you’re capable of, I’ve seen you do it before. See what solutions you can come up with.”

Practical Steps Toward Resourcefulness

It is important to distinguish between questions your team cannot know or solve on their own (budget, leave dates, etc.) and questions they can solve (internal conflicts, client problems). As we all use AI more, we are becoming worse at creative thinking. This makes this an uphill battle, but it is one worth fighting. Tell your team: “Anytime you come to me with a problem, tell me what solutions you have already considered.”

To make this practical, the NLM facilitates monthly sessions where team members show the rest of the group the process they followed to find a creative solution. The focus is not on the actual solution; it is on the steps they took to get there. During these sessions, use public recognition for the team members who showed the most resourcefulness. By highlighting someone who solved a problem without waiting for an answer, you signal to the rest of the team that you value independent thinking over simply “checking in.”

Investing in Long-term Impact

Think of it this way: if they are lost in the forest, do you give them direct instructions to get out? Or do you teach them to read a map and use a compass? I’ll zoom in on the process, and importance, of teaching new skills to your team, in a future edition of this newsletter. How to teach them to ‘read a compass’. But before we get there, we must let go of the tendency to give our team all the answers.

This shift is a vital part of leadership coaching. The leaders I work with transform their definitions of success, in ways that helps them, and their careers.

If you are ready to stop being the “answering machine” and start building a high-ownership team, schedule your free introduction call to discuss the possibilities for your specific situation.

Summary: This article defines the fundamental responsibilities of a first-time manager by addressing the “Player-Coach Trap.” It argues that primary duties shift from technical output to human-centric leadership and providing team perspective. The core responsibility highlighted is the development of an inner compass through reflection to lead others effectively.

Welcome to the first edition of The Next Level Manager.

I am David. I want to help you find some breathing room in your own to-do list.

In my coaching work, I see the same pattern over and over. I call it the “Player-Coach Trap.” It happens when you think your value still comes from the technical tasks you used to do: the code, the deals, or the designs.

It does not.

The Shift: Leading from the Inside Out.

Moving to the next level means your priority has to change. You are not responsible for the work anymore; you are responsible for the people.

This requires a different kind of growth. It is not about learning a new software, but about developing the maturity to handle the human side of business. This is where “perspective” comes in. To bring it, move from giving the answer to asking deepening questions:

• “What haven’t we thought of here?”
• “What is a different way this could work?”
• “What is the essence of what we’re trying to accomplish. Are we still moving towards that?”

The source of these questions must be your own deep sense of what you and your team’s mission is, and why. If you have that inner compass, you will naturally sense when the team deviates from the course. You’ll get it through reflection. Quiet, focused, thinking-time. Even 5 minutes a day is enough.

The Main Question to Ask

You can ask yourself: achieving what 3 objectives will make you score your year a 100/100 at the end? That’s where your compass is pointing.

You cannot give your team clarity if you do not have it yourself.

From this position of clarity, you can help your team gain perspective. Through questioning. By asking these questions, you don’t “fix” the problem for them; you help them see the path back to the track themselves. Giving someone the answer is like scrolling their social media feed for them: it’s forgotten the next minute. But helping them find new answers themselves, is what actually helps them grow, comparable to making their own social media post. That’s what they’ll remember.

The First Step

Leave the hero role behind. Your job is no longer to be the most productive person in the room, but to be the one who brings the most perspective to it. When you make that shift, you will feel it immediately. You’ll have achieved a different, more relaxed state. And from that, you can start making a much bigger impact.

The next level is not a promotion. It is a decision to lead from the inside out. It starts with you.

David Buirs Leadership Coach

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Summary: This article addresses HR managers dealing with high operational pressure due to inexperienced first-time leaders. It explores the psychological transition from specialist to manager and the necessity of personal leadership as a foundation. The content highlights the 7:1 ROI of management training to reduce turnover and absenteeism and improve engagement and retention.

You open your inbox and there is the first sick report of the day again. Followed by a message from a frustrated employee who “needs to talk” about their manager. You know exactly what is happening. That one talented specialist who was promoted six months ago is stuck. He is working harder than ever, but his team is falling apart. For these experts, targeted management training for new managers is crucial to make the leap from content to impact.

Searching for the right course

New managers often lack a clear compass in the beginning. They fall back on their intuition or on how they were once managed themselves, which is not always the best blueprint for their current team. Sometimes they are overconfident and steamroll over people with a tunnel vision on results. Others withdraw and become too detached out of fear of making mistakes. You see them searching: one day too task-oriented and authoritarian, the next day too soft because they do not want to lose the connection. These fluctuations in style cause a restlessness that lands directly on your desk.

Why HR often needs to “clean up the mess”

It is a classic pattern for which you pay the price. A good technical expert is pushed into a leadership role without hesitation. The result? A manager who micromanages because he does not dare to let go of the wheel. And who gets to conduct the difficult conversations, manage the absenteeism, and handle the exit interviews when talent leaves? You.

This constant patching up eats your calendar. You simply do not get to the strategic work you were actually hired for. You are busy all day closing holes in the culture caused by faltering leadership. Targeted management training for new managers prevents HR from remaining the organization’s cleanup crew.

Stop the bleeding with personal leadership

Real leadership is not a list of skills you simply check off. It starts with the courage to look in the mirror. We must return to the foundation: Personal Leadership. Only when a manager understands why he holds on to that control so convulsively or why he avoids that confrontation does something change on the shop floor. Without that psychological depth, any management training remains a case of mopping with the tap open.

The calculation your Board understands

Let’s be honest: you also have to sell this internally. The cost of high employee turnover in teams is enormous, but the solution pays for itself twice over. Figures show that every dollar you put into decent leadership development yields an average of 7 dollars in value.

That means less absenteeism, lower recruitment costs, and above all: a team that runs independently again. It gives you the space to be that strategic partner again instead of the permanent crisis manager. A good investment in leadership coaching or management training for new managers is therefore not a cost, but pure profit for the peace in your organization.

Schedule a free introduction call here to discuss the possibilities for your context.

Summary: This article addresses how to increase your organisation’s engagement, and fix high employee turnover and low eNPS in Amsterdam-based organizations. Referring to Gallup’s global workplace engagement survey, identifies poor management as the primary cause of low decreasing engagement. The text advocates for management training, including teaching managers how to coach, to improve retention and ROI.

Low Engagement Keeps HR and L&D Professionals Awake at Night

The latest quarterly HR audit figures are in, and the signals are concerning. Employee engagement is declining, the eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) has stagnated, and turnover among high potentials in the Amsterdam region is increasing. As an HR Director or L&D Manager, you understand that strategic plans are only as effective as the managers responsible for executing them.

The realization is clear: there is a problem. However, you are not alone. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 report shows a worldwide decline in engagement, primarily driven by an even sharper decrease in engagement among managers. A manager’s level of engagement has a direct and significant impact on the engagement of their team.

The Solution to Low Engagement: Management Training

According to Gallup, approximately $9.6 trillion in productivity can be unlocked globally if managers are fully engaged. To achieve this, Gallup advises that the most effective action companies can take is to train their managers. Furthermore, they recommend teaching managers how to coach.

As technical skills become less permanent, coaching abilities become increasingly essential. In my management training programs, I teach new managers how to coach their teams effectively. This leads to higher engagement, more motivated employees, and fewer issues for HR to resolve.

The Cost of the ‘Accidental Manager’

Many managers in the Amsterdam business market have transitioned into their roles based on subject matter expertise rather than leadership skills. Without targeted leadership development, they inadvertently become the source of the challenges HR faces daily:

• Rising Absenteeism: Often the result of a management style that fails to recognize early signs of stress.
• Low Retention: In a competitive market like Amsterdam, talent leaves for competitors as soon as the relationship with their direct supervisor deteriorates.
• Declining Employee Engagement: Without proper guidance, employees lose their connection to the company’s mission.

Approximately half of all managers have never received formal management training. This lack of guidance is the root cause of many management issues. These are not individuals with bad intentions; they are professionals who are navigating their roles without a clear framework. Conducting difficult conversations, facilitating effective meetings, managing underperformance, and motivating staff are all skills that can be learned, yet they often fail in practice due to a lack of proper support.

Management Training That Supports HR KPIs

By investing in professional leadership coaching, we address the core of the issue. We train managers to move beyond just monitoring output and instead create an environment where psychological safety and performance coexist. This is the only sustainable way to structurally improve the eNPS.

Investing in Leadership in the Amsterdam Region

Whether your organization is located at the Zuidas or is a growing company in Amsterdam-Noord, the war for talent is won through the quality of your management. You require a partner who understands that training is only successful when burnout rates decrease and internal mobility increases.

My programs are designed to provide managers with the tools to:

1. Create Clarity: Managers learn exactly what is expected of them—and what is not—enabling them to lead with focus.
2. Increase Engagement: They learn how to keep employees genuinely involved and motivated, which is directly reflected in the eNPS.
3. Build High-Performing Teams: Facilitate the transition from a group of individuals to a cohesive team that delivers top performance.

Conclusion

Is it time to elevate the leadership development within your organization? You can read more here about how my customized management training in Amsterdam can support your HR objectives. Alternatively, you may schedule a complimentary introductory meeting via www.davidbuirs.com/contact.

This article provides a strategic framework for new managers on how to lead team meetings better through boundary setting and a team charter. It identifies the psychological resistance to confronting senior staff and provides a downloadable manifesto for team efficiency, which can be used by managers and non-managers (informal leadership) alike. The focus is on moving from reactive management to proactive leadership impact.

Your inbox is a crime scene. Deadlines stack up while you sit in another hour of corporate theater. A senior lead invites you to a meeting with no agenda. No context. You watch your afternoon vanish in real-time.

Most new leaders treat these invites like a summons to court. You show up. You endure ten minutes of weather talk. You watch a colleague turn a “short update” into a personal manifesto. You leave the room feeling drained. If you want to know how to lead team meetings better, stop being a hostage to them.

The cost of passive leadership

Real leadership requires backbone. You must realize that your time is your only true capital. If you do not manage yourself, you cannot manage a team. You are simply reacting to the loudest person in the room.

You have two choices when the “agenda-less” invite arrives.

You can pretend your Wi-Fi died and vanish. It is a temporary escape, but it solves nothing. Or, you can be direct. Ask a simple question before you click “Accept”: “What is the specific goal of this meeting so I can prepare properly?”

From corporate theater to a team manifesto

During the session, be the one who interrupts the noise. When the conversation drifts, name the pain. “We are off-topic. Let’s get back to the objective.”

If you want your team to change their behavior, use this meeting efficiency manifesto. It is a team charter designed to kill the fluff and focus on impact. You can even introduce it without being the formal leader of the group. By doing show, you demonstrate informal leadership.

The managers I support in leadership coaching often fear this confrontation. They think the room will bite back. It won’t. Most people will silently thank you for rescuing them from another hour of wasted budget.

Stop “putting out fires” by attending every fire drill. Start owning the room by owning your boundaries.

Schedule a free introduction call to discuss the possibilities for your situation and see if there is mutual chemistry here.

This guide provides performance review tips for new managers to handle difficult evaluations without stress. It focuses on the transition from peer to leader and the importance of personal leadership in giving feedback. The content explains how to replace “putting out fires” with clear, goal-oriented communication.

Clammy hands. Lead in your shoes. You are staring at a calendar invite for a conversation you don’t want to have. You know the team member has underperformed, but you have avoided the tension for months. This is the reality of the manager who prioritizes being liked over being clear.

The failure of the annual surprise

Performance reviews are often a theater of the absurd. Many managers postpone feedback because they fear confrontation. They incorrectly assume feedback is an attack. Without personal leadership, you lack the internal compass to deliver difficult truths. If a rating causes a shock, you haven’t been leading; you’ve been spectating. Continuous leadership coaching helps you move from avoiding heat to managing it.

Tips for giving feedback with integrity

To fix the review process, you must change your daily habits. Follow these principles to regain control:

• Set measurable goals. Without a yardstick, your assessment is just an opinion.
• Kill the surprises. The review should be a high-level summary of a year-long dialogue.
• Abandon the need to be liked. Your job is clarity and integrity.
• Neutralize the emotional charge. When a team member gets angry, stop the content. Address the emotion calmly and resume only when the room has settled.

Ownership of the message

If you are delivering bad news due to budget cuts, you must understand the reasoning yourself. Don’t be a messenger who shrugs their shoulders. Ask your own management the hard questions so you can stand behind your words. Effective management training ensures that your team knows what success looks like and exactly how they are rewarded.

Schedule a free introduction call here to discuss the possibilities for your context.

This article provides a strategic framework for time management for new managers, focusing on the shift from reactive firefighting to proactive leadership. It explains how to use the Important vs Urgent Matrix to delegate effectively and reduce operational stress. The guide emphasizes that personal leadership is the foundation of long-term managerial success

 

Time management for new managers: Escape the urgency trap

The promotion felt like a reward, but the reality feels like a trap. You spent years becoming an expert in your field, only to find that your expertise is now the very thing keeping you stuck in the office at 7:00 PM. You are drowning in a sea of “quick questions” and urgent emails while your own strategic work gathers dust. This is the core challenge of time management for new managers: distinguishing between being busy and being effective.

From expert to firefighter

Most managers are addicted to the “urgent”. It provides an immediate dopamine hit to solve a problem or answer a crisis. We call this “putting out fires management”. You feel necessary, but you are actually stagnant. By constantly reacting, you neglect the Personal Leadership required to build a self-sustaining team. You are not leading; you are just the most stressed person in the room. The effect driving this is called the Mere Urgency effect, a bias us humans have to focus on things that are urgent rather than important.

Using the Matrix to reclaim your day

To master time management for new managers, you must look at your tasks through the lens of the Important vs Urgent Matrix. Most managers live in the bottom-left quadrant—tasks that need to get done, but not necessarily by you. This is the “Delegate” zone.

Efficiency as a byproduct of Personal Leadership

Real leadership is the art of becoming obsolete in the daily operations so you can focus on the growth of the team. If you are still “doing” instead of “leading,” you are stealing development opportunities from your team. Effective time management is not about doing more; it is about doing less, better. Here are 3 tips to help you:

• Kill the notifications: It takes 23 minutes to regain deep focus after a distraction.

• The 60-minute block: Schedule one hour of “uninterruptible” time daily for strategic thinking.

• The “No” Audit: If a task doesn’t require your specific leadership level, it belongs on someone else’s desk.

Investing just 2 hours a month in leadership coaching provides the external perspective needed to stop being a firefighter and start being a leader.

Schedule a free introduction call here to discuss the possibilities for your specific situation.