The Global Engagement Challenge
According to Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace Report, only 21% of employees worldwide consider themselves engaged at work. This means nearly three out of four professionals are either indifferent or actively disengaged.
The cost of disengagement is enormous: lower productivity, higher turnover, weakened collaboration, and less innovation. But beyond numbers, disengagement represents something deeper: a lack of connection between leaders and their people.
Engagement Starts with Leaders
As highlighted by Forbes (2024), engagement spreads from leaders to their teams. Countries with highly engaged managers are almost twice as likely to have engaged employees.
That’s because employees mirror what they experience. When leaders feel trusted, supported, and empowered, they naturally create environments where others thrive. On the other hand, when leaders are stressed, burned out, or disconnected, that emotional tone echoes through the entire organization. Leaders set the emotional climate for engagement.
The Power of Relationships: Leader–Member Exchange (LMX)
Academic research refers to this dynamic as Leader–Member Exchange (LMX), which is defined as the quality of the relationship between a leader and each team member.
High-quality LMX is built on three elements:
- Trust: believing in each other’s intentions and reliability.
- Respect: valuing each person’s contribution.
- Open Communication: creating space for dialogue and feedback.
Teams with strong LMX report greater satisfaction, performance, and psychological safety. Yet in today’s multicultural, hybrid workplaces, building these relationships has become more complex and crucial than ever.
The Missing Link: Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
In multicultural settings, trust and engagement aren’t built the same way everywhere. What feels respectful in one culture may feel distant in another. A “direct” communication style may be appreciated in the U.S., but perceived as rude in Brazil. That’s where Cultural Intelligence (CQ) becomes indispensable.
My doctoral research studied the impacts of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) on Multicultural Team Performance. As a result, the research concluded that leaders with high CQ are significantly more likely to develop strong LMX relationships, which in turn foster higher engagement and team performance across borders. In other words: CQ empowers leaders to transform diversity into connection, and connection into performance.
From Data to Action
Both Gallup and Forbes highlight a critical insight: engagement cannot rely on an HR initiative. It is a leadership capability.
To elevate engagement in a global workforce, organizations must:
- Start with managers.
Equip them with tools, mentorship, and feedback to strengthen their own engagement and resilience. - Develop Cultural Intelligence (CQ).
Train leaders to navigate cultural differences with consideration, curiosity, and adaptability. - Invest in relationships.
Engagement grows from daily interactions — listening, recognizing contributions, and understanding people as individuals. - Measure what matters.
Go beyond satisfaction surveys. Assess trust, inclusion, and psychological safety across cultural contexts.
As organizations expand across borders, engagement will depend less on policies and more on people. Leaders who understand cultural nuance, build trust, and connection will be the ones who inspire global performance. Because at the end of the day, engagement is not about managing tasks; it is about leading people. And Cultural Intelligence helps leaders do it across borders.
Dr. Danielle Santos, DBA
D.S. Intl. Consulting
? References
- Forbes (Melissa A. Wheeler, 2024). Global Workplace Data Suggests High Engagement Starts With Managers.
- Gallup (2025). State of the Global Workplace Report.
- Santos, D. (2025). Multicultural Team Performance: The Impacts of Leader Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and Leader–Member Exchange (LMX).