Most companies these days are like caterpillars, wanting to metamorphose into new phases—whether shifting toward AI, undergoing a merger, or restructuring to stay afloat in an uncertain economy.

While some companies are embarking on substantial changes, the majority aren’t likely to achieve all of their original goals. Consulting giant McKinsey estimated that only 31% of corporations reported successful transformation in 2021, and Bain more recently suggested that 88% of organizations don’t hit the mark on their ambitions.) The reason why, recent research from Bain suggested, could be one critical disconnect between a company’s leadership and workforce.

Mind the gap. Most (88%) senior leaders believe their restructuring will achieve its aims, but only 36% of workers agree, according to a Bain survey of around 1,000 global executives and employees who recently underwent such changes.

The issue isn’t poor communication about the transformation, but rather leadership’s inability to tie goals to workers’ day-to-day jobs.

“What we found was that employees and middle managers were really clear on what was changing, but not on how to succeed in the new model,” Tracy Thurkow, who leads Bain’s global center for culture and behavioral change in its people and organization practice, told HR Brew. Just 22% of employees surveyed by Bain felt they received sufficient support—including training, coaching, or tools—as part of their company’s reorganization.

Watch out for the managers. One of the main reasons for the gap was managers who may not be supported to lead teams through these changes. While 80% of leaders surveyed by Bain believed they effectively communicated, trained, and supported those individuals most impacted from reorganizing, only 57% of middle managers agreed. Managers also noted that their own jobs had changed drastically, and that they felt ill-prepared to support others through shifts.

“We’re expecting [managers] to do that work implicitly,” said Thurkow, adding that leaders should not focus on “acknowledging an expectation that we have of that population, but making it more doable by equipping them and supporting them and doing it.”

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