The Single Greatest Force Multiplier: Good Management

Instructional designers love complexity. We create intricate curricula, elaborate scenarios, and interactive tutorials that teach learners exactly which buttons to press. But in our eagerness to empower frontline employees, we often overlook the single greatest lever for workforce performance: effective management.

It’s time to say it plainly: exceptional managers have always been—and always will be—the most powerful force multiplier for performance in any organization. Yet many organizations continue to underinvest in building management capabilities, choosing instead to pour resources into endless training aimed at employees who are only as effective as the managers who lead them.

Let's take a closer look. Imagine two scenarios:

1. Scenario A: Your training team invests heavily in teaching individual contributors the specifics of their tasks—how to click through software, memorize product details, or adhere to a script. Performance initially improves but soon plateaus because contributors face systemic barriers or lack guidance and support.

2. Scenario B: You invest instead in training your managers on core, people-centric skills like hiring strategically, giving effective feedback, managing conflict, and coaching proactively. These skills trickle down into daily practices, creating a sustainable environment where contributors naturally grow, learn, and thrive—performance continuously improves.

Scenario B consistently outperforms Scenario A because effective managers elevate everyone around them. A good manager doesn't just make one individual better—they create conditions for entire teams to thrive, multiplying the value of your training many times over.

Yet, in instructional design, we stubbornly cling to the idea that if we just teach employees better or more efficiently, performance will naturally follow. This is rarely true. People don't struggle because they don’t know which buttons to press. They struggle because their managers fail to provide clear feedback, timely support, meaningful motivation, or constructive accountability.

Think about your most impactful learning experience. Was it a detailed instruction manual, or was it a manager who cared, coached, and pushed you to grow? The answer is almost always the latter.

If your goal is a truly high-performing workforce, resist the temptation to double down on contributor training. Instead, double your investment in manager development. Teach them people-centric skills—how to hire for talent and attitude, how to coach effectively, how to deliver actionable, supportive feedback—and watch performance soar.

Effective management, not detailed instructions, creates a culture where contributors succeed because they're inspired, guided, and supported. It's not about buttons, software, or scripts. It's about people. Always has been, always will be.