How Managers Shape the New Engagement Promise

What if the solution to management burnout isn’t better time management, but a complete rethink of how we structure leadership roles?

In this follow-up episode, Kamaria Scott and David Rice, host of the People Managing People podcast, continue their lively, two-way conversation about the impossible position we’ve put modern managers in.

Picking up where Part 1 left off, Kamaria and David trade stories, compare experiences, and challenge each other’s thinking on how organizations unintentionally overload managers. They dig into how the decline of long-term job security and traditional benefits has shifted expectations—often leaving managers to “duct tape” systemic problems they didn’t create.

Together, they explore:

• How engagement is shaped by the conscious choices employees make about where to direct their energy

• The hidden costs of emotional labor for managers, and what can be done to reduce it

• The gap between generational expectations and current organizational realities

• Strategies for building team trust when institutional trust is low

The conversation flows from structural issues to personal stories, touching on why 82% of young professionals say they don’t want management roles, and why—even as AI evolves—human managers remain essential for context, judgment, and belief in their people.

Whether you’re navigating management challenges yourself or rethinking how your organization supports its leaders, this episode offers practical takeaways and a reminder that no manager should have to hero their way through systemic problems alone.

Show Notes:

• Part 1 of this conversation: Redefining Engagement in a Post-Trust Era

• Follow David Rice: LinkedIn | peoplemanagingpeople.com

• Follow Kamaria Scott: LinkedIn | managermomentum.com