Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Executives, mind the purpose gap
Organization
April 9, 2021 – 85 percent of execs and upper management told us in a recent survey that they’re living their purpose at work. The exact same number of frontline managers and frontline employees told us they are not.
To read the article, see “Help your employees find purpose—or watch them leave,” April 5, 2021.
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Visual form
Two-group stacked column comparison with side callouts.
Layout / body structure
The chart places one vertical stack for executives and upper management on the left and one for frontline managers and frontline employees on the right. Large side callout boxes frame the two stacks so the reader can compare the headline summary on each side before reading the segment composition inside the columns.
What is being compared
It compares how strongly executives and upper management versus frontline managers and frontline employees agree that they can live their purpose in their day-to-day work.
Measurement system
The measure is percent of respondents. Each stack is divided into agree or strongly agree, neutral, and disagree or strongly disagree segments, with the percentages printed inside the bars and the side boxes summarizing the dominant result for each group.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The left stack is dominated by a tall light-blue agree band, while the right stack is dominated by a dark disagree band and a large neutral middle. The mirrored layout makes the contrast easy to read because the same three-category structure flips from strongly positive on the left to mostly neutral-or-negative on the right.
Main takeaway from the visual
A sharp purpose gap separates upper management from the front line. Executives overwhelmingly say they can live their purpose in daily work, while most frontline respondents are either unsure or disagree that they can do the same.
Key standout values or extremes
Among executives and upper management, 85 percent agree or strongly agree, 13 percent are neutral, and 2 percent disagree. Among frontline managers and frontline employees, 15 percent agree, 36 percent are neutral, and 49 percent disagree, which is why the right-side callout emphasizes that 85 percent are unsure or disagree.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.