Three in four cross-functional teams underperform on key metrics. If you run a business unit, that is not an abstract collaboration problem; it is a direct warning that the way work moves across functions is likely costing you speed where customers can feel it ( McKinsey , 2024).

Gallup found global employee engagement fell to 20% in 2025 . If commitment is this thin inside organizations, a GM should assume trust is even harder to earn outside them in a new region ( Gallup , 2026) .

You have seen the meeting. A regional business unit defends a missed target by pointing to local autonomy, while the center insists the strategy was clear enough. Then everyone looks at the GM. That moment is the real test of leadership accountability in decentralized units.

Only 20% of employees worldwide were engaged in 2025 . For any GM trying to push a strategic initiative through the business, that number explains why a clear mandate can still produce weak movement on the ground ( Gallup , 2026) .

99% of leaders believe AI will disrupt their industry , yet most business-unit leaders still run the day as if AI were a side project rather than an operating variable ( Korn Ferry , 2025).

7 in 10 business leaders say their primary competitive strategy for the next three years is speed and agility—but most operating reviews still reward near-term variance control more than future capacity building ( Deloitte , 2026).

82% of organizations fail to choose the candidate with the best talent fit for the job —which means many succession decisions are already off track before a role opens ( Gallup , 2024).