In a world where engagement is dropping, burnout is rising, and five generations now sit side-by-side in the workplace, traditional management simply isn’t working anymore. In this episode of the podcast we chat to Notion’s Laura and Dominic Ashley-Timms – authors of The Answer is a Question – The Missing Superpower that Changes Everything and Will Transform Your Impact as a Manager and Leader – where five powerful insights emerged about what modern leadership really requires.
Click the play button to listen to the podcast!
Here are the takeaways HR leaders need to hear:
1. Management Is Failing Because We’re Still Using a Command-and-Control Playbook
Despite massive investment in leadership development, 73% of organisations still operate with a command-and-control culture. The result? Low engagement, high turnover, and a generation of employees who simply won’t tolerate being micromanaged.
Managers were promoted for technical expertise, not people leadership – and it shows. Many have become “accidental managers” drowning in tasks, firefighting, and pressure.
The message?
If we want different outcomes, we need a different management style – not more traditional training.
2. Engagement Isn’t a Soft Metric – It’s an Economic Crisis
Gallup’s global research shows low engagement costs the world $8.9 trillion.
And 70% of that engagement variance comes directly from managers.
We can’t talk culture, productivity, retention, or performance without talking about the quality of day-to-day management. And right now, employee engagement has dropped back to COVID-era lows – a warning sign HR cannot ignore.
The insight is clear:
Fix the manager, and you fix the organisation.
3. “Operational Coaching” Is the Missing Skill Modern Managers Need
Notion’s core argument is simple:
Managers need to stop telling and start asking.
Operational coaching replaces instruction with “purposeful enquiry” – asking powerful questions that help employees think, solve, and contribute. Instead of being expert problem-solvers, managers become facilitators of performance.
This shift leads to:
More inclusive teamwork
Increased ownership
Higher productivity
A stronger sense of purpose and agency
In other words:
Managers don’t lose control – they gain capacity.
4. Purposeful Enquiry Can Give Managers Back a Full Day Every Week
The UK government and London School of Economics validated Notion’s methodology in the largest study of its kind. The result?
Managers shifted 70% more of their time into coaching their teams in real work.
And many reclaimed 20% of their weekly capacity.
In practical terms, that’s one full day per week not spent firefighting, fixing, or micromanaging – but available for higher-value strategic work.
This is the “what’s in it for me?” that resistant managers need to hear.
5. Burnout Won’t Improve Until Managers Stop Doing Everyone’s Work
A major driver of burnout is not workload alone, but the belief managers must:
carry the team’s emotional load
solve every problem
protect everyone from stress
perform their own tasks
deliver the work of others
It’s unsustainable – and it’s breaking leaders.
Operational coaching tackles burnout at its root by reducing dependency. When managers stop absorbing everyone’s problems, teams start stepping up.
The outcome?
Managers feel lighter. Teams feel empowered. Work becomes healthier for everyone.
The Bottom Line
This conversation makes one thing clear:
The next era of leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room – it’s about asking the smartest questions.
Operational coaching isn’t a “nice to have.”
It’s the new baseline skill for leaders navigating hybrid work, generational shifts, and rising burnout.
If organisations want engagement, productivity, and resilience, the transformation must start with one simple pivot:
Stop telling. Start asking.
