Why Community Banks Can’t Afford to Skip Manager Training

In a number of recent conversations with HR professionals, one theme came up repeatedly. HR professionals across the room described getting pulled into employee situations that a well-prepared manager should have handled alone, whether that meant delivering difficult feedback, resolving conflict between coworkers, or addressing performance concerns. That pattern points to a clear training gap.

That same gap showed up in a recent article covering new findings from The Predictive Index’s 2026 AI and People Leadership Report, a survey of 208 CEOs and business leaders alongside 399 people managers. The headline finding is that leadership confidence in managers is running well ahead of how prepared managers actually feel.

Why Manager Confidence and Readiness Don’t Match Up

74% of executives surveyed said they were confident their managers could handle difficult conversations on their own. Only 57% of managers said they walk into those same conversations feeling fully prepared. That disconnect raises a real question about whether some managers are getting the support and training they need to be effective leaders. 

Anthony Belluccia, an industrial and organizational psychologist who worked on the study, put the distinction this way. Trusting a manager and knowing they’re prepared for a specific hard conversation are two different things. Confidence from above doesn’t guarantee readiness on the ground.

The Biggest Challenges Managers Face in Difficult Conversations

When managers themselves were asked what trips them up most when planning for a difficult conversation, the top answers centered on delivery. Delivering feedback constructively led the list at 22.8%, followed by anticipating how an employee will react at 19.5% and staying objective at 14.3%. These numbers point to delivery skills that are rarely covered in a new manager’s onboarding.

That distinction matters for how banks think about training. A manager who understands the policy and can identify a performance problem hasn’t necessarily learned how to deliver that message to a specific person in a way that lands well.

How HR Can Help Managers Prepare for Difficult Conversations

The same survey found that 58% of executives want HR to build guidance that prepares managers before a difficult conversation happens, rather than sitting in the room with them. However, managers report that kind of support isn’t always there when they need it. Only 43% said HR is readily available to help them prepare, and the remainder described something closer to intermittent support.  In reality, the time for managers to build confidence is before they actually have a situation where it’s needed. 

The ROI of Formal Manager Training

Separate research from Gallup puts a number on what’s at stake. Only 44% of managers have received formal management training, but among those who have, active disengagement on their teams drops by half. Community banks tend to have smaller teams, and everyone can see how each working relationship plays out across the branch. That visibility means one undertrained manager can shape morale for the entire location.

What This Means for Community Banks

HR professionals and the national data are pointing to the same conclusion from different directions. Managers are being asked to handle increasingly difficult employee situations, often without the preparation those moments require. Training closes that gap before the next hard conversation exposes it.

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