According to a recent Gallup study, a high percentage of managers across the country and across the globe are not meeting their employee’s needs. This is evidenced by the sobering fact that globally, actively disengaged employees outnumber their engaged counterparts by a factor of nearly 2 to 1. Low engagement rates drain morale overall and limit a company’s ability to retain high-performing employees. Often it’s assumed that poor management is one of the leading causes of low engagement; however, that is only partially correct. A company’s inefficiencies and bureaucracies are really to blame here. If an individual is placed into a leadership role at an organization that is designed to maintain the status quo, this (intentionally or not) kills creativity and discourages decisive decision making. The engagement-killing micromanager is symptomatic of an organization structured to stamp out employee empowerment and professional development. Blaming the manager for poor engagement ignores the root cause.