Managers Hold the Key to Employee Engagement - Here’s How 360° Feedback Helps Them Use It
Employee engagement has become one of the most powerful predictors of organisational success. When people feel heard, supported, and connected to their leaders, they stay longer, perform better, and go further.
But despite its importance, engagement remains low in many organisations, and often, the root cause isn’t the strategy or the culture; it’s the leadership experience.
The Manager’s Impact: Where Engagement Begins
The everyday experience of work is shaped not by the CEO or the company mission, but by the person you report to day-to-day. Managers are the emotional core of the organisation, the people who translate vision into action, and action into culture. The quality of leadership has a direct causal link to team engagement: 70% of the variance in employee engagement can be attributed to managerial influence.
They set the tone in team meetings, shape communication during change, and influence whether people feel trusted, valued, or overlooked. A great manager can turn uncertainty into motivation. A poor one can undo even the best engagement strategy. Research shows that more than half of employees (57%) surveyed say they have left a job because of how they were managed.
At Inpulse, our data from over 100,000 employee responses shows a 40% increase in engagement where strong leadership is present. The message is clear: managers have the greatest power to influence how their people feel at work.
That’s why leadership capability isn’t just a development priority, it’s an engagement strategy in itself. By equipping managers with clearer insight into their impact, organisations empower them to shift from being “task managers” to “engagement drivers”.
Awareness is the Foundation of Great Leadership
To have a positive impact, managers first need to understand the one thing they can’t see for themselves: how they’re perceived by others.
That’s what 360° feedback provides. It gives managers unfiltered visibility into how their leadership is actually experienced, not how they think it’s experienced. It replaces assumption with awareness, helping managers see:
- How their actions affect trust and motivation
- Where their communication style builds clarity, or confusion
- What hidden strengths they can lean on
- Which habits or blind spots may be holding their team back
This isn’t about judgement or performance scoring, it’s about self-awareness and growth. When managers understand their emotional impact, they can adjust how they lead, creating stronger, more engaged teams.
Turning Insight into Action: How Inpulse360 Works
Our Inpulse360 programme combines the science of feedback with the emotion of engagement. It connects what people think with how they feel, giving leaders a holistic view of their influence. A well-designed 360° feedback process helps managers recognise how their everyday behaviours impact their teams, bridging the gap between what managers intend and how their teams feel.
Here’s how it works:
- Design Phase
We align the 360° survey with your leadership framework and values, ensuring the questions reflect the behaviours that matter most. - Data Phase
Leaders receive feedback from their team, peers, and line manager, alongside automated reports summarising their strengths, opportunities, and overall leadership impact. - Delivery Phase
Through one-to-one coaching and workshops, managers explore their feedback in context, translating insight into practical development plans that build confidence and capability.
It’s not just about collecting feedback, it’s about empowering line managers to create change.
Why 360° Feedback Drives Engagement
360° feedback creates a mindset shift, from managing performance to understanding people. Leaders become more empathetic, more curious, and more connected to their teams’ emotional needs.
- When managers grow in self-awareness, teams grow in trust.
- Our research shows that leaders who act on their 360° feedback see:
- Higher engagement scores within 12 months
- Improved collaboration and communication across teams
- Greater alignment between personal growth and business goals
When people feel understood, they engage.
Building a Culture Where Leaders Listen and Learn
Engaged organisations don’t just measure leadership, they develop it continuously. A feedback culture encourages curiosity over defensiveness and turns reflection into habit.
Managers who regularly seek feedback model openness and vulnerability. They show their teams that growth isn’t a weakness, it’s leadership in action. That's where 360° feedback becomes more than a development tool; it becomes a language of connection and trust that fuels long-term engagement.
The Takeaway: Leadership Drives Engagement, and 360° Feedback Drives Leadership
Employee engagement starts with leadership. And leadership starts with awareness.
By investing in 360 feedback for managers, HR leaders can build a generation of emotionally intelligent, self-aware managers who understand how their behaviour shapes team engagement, communicates with authenticity and empathy, and inspires trust, motivation and performance.
Leaders who know their impact are empowered to lead their teams in a more effective way.
Transform your leadership culture and unlock higher engagement with Inpulse360, the 360° feedback and coaching solution built to help managers understand, grow, and lead with confidence.
Download our free guide 'The Power of 360 Feedback' to find out more about Inpulse 360.
