Why leadership capacity is the key to improving employee engagement

Author

Avital Rogatnikov

Job Title

< 1 minute read

16 Oct 2026

Carole Gaskell, our Founder and CEO, writes for HRZone about the connection between declining employee engagement and leadership capacity, exploring why organisations need to look beyond traditional engagement initiatives to address the underlying challenges leaders face.

She discusses:

• Why falling employee engagement may reflect a growing gap between leadership demands and the capacity to meet them
• The difference between leadership capability and capacity, and why having the right skills does not always translate into effective leadership under pressure
• How increasing complexity, uncertainty and competing priorities affect leadership behaviours, decision making and team performance
• The five interconnected leadership capacities — Cognitive, Emotional, Relational, Operational and Regenerative — and their influence on organisational effectiveness
• Why employees often experience the effects of stretched leadership capacity before these challenges appear in engagement surveys
• How HR can strengthen leadership capacity by addressing organisational pressures, creating space for reflection and supporting sustainable performance

Read the full article on HRZone: Why leadership capacity is the real root of sinking engagement