12.03.2026
The 70 Percent Rule
Executive Insight | Ægir Thorisson, CPO
There is a number I think every leader should remember.
Research consistently shows that most variation in team engagement is attributable to the manager, not compensation, not office design, not even the strategy deck. The manager.
I remember exactly when that statistic truly landed for me. I was already a CEO at the time, and I realised that if seventy percent of engagement sits with the manager, then it had also been sitting with me.
That insight is both empowering and slightly uncomfortable. Empowering because it confirms that leadership truly matters. Uncomfortable because it removes most of the easy explanations.
Engagement is experienced up close
People do not experience culture at the corporate level. They experience it through their manager, in conversations, in feedback sessions, in team meetings, and especially in moments of pressure.
Engagement is shaped in everyday interactions, not annual surveys.
A leader can speak convincingly about trust in a town hall, but what people remember is how you reacted when they challenged you in a meeting. They remember whether you followed through. They remember whether it felt safe to speak.
Those moments accumulate.
The small behaviors that compound
Engagement rarely shifts because of one major initiative. It shifts because of repeated behavior.
Do I genuinely invite dissent, or subtly signal that disagreement is inconvenient. Do I respond to mistakes with curiosity, or irritation. Do I create clarity around expectations, or leave people guessing. Do I take ownership when something fails.
None of these behaviors require additional budget. They require awareness and consistency.
Authority can create compliance. Trust creates commitment. And commitment leads to discretionary effort, the energy people choose to invest when they feel ownership. That energy is what drives innovation and growth.
The mirror test
When a team struggles with engagement, it is tempting to look outward at policy, workload, or structure. Those factors matter.
But in my experience, the more useful place to start is closer to home.
Am I clear in what I expect. Am I consistent in how I follow through. Do people feel comfortable disagreeing with me. Do I create energy in the room, or tension.
Leadership is not a passive role. It amplifies whatever environment it creates.
Control multiplies caution. Trust multiplies initiative. Silence multiplies disengagement. Clarity multiplies performance.
The responsibility of leadership
Leadership is a privilege. It is also a responsibility.
If managers influence the majority of engagement outcomes, then engagement cannot be treated as an abstract concept owned by HR. It is lived in daily leadership.
You make the difference.
And I learned that lesson not from theory, but from experience.
Ægir Thorisson
Chief People Officer, Advania