Accidental Managers: Myth or Reality? Debunking the Leadership Dilemma

Changing the narrative

The term “accidental manager” serves as a convenient label, but it may obscure a more profound and systemic issue within organisational cultures. It implies that individuals fall into leadership roles by happenstance, when, in reality, they are placed there as a result of deliberate human choices shaped by flawed systems. Organisations continue to promote high performers—often technical experts—into management roles despite knowing that expertise in one domain doesn’t necessarily translate into leadership aptitude. This ongoing phenomenon reflects a deeper problem: companies and industries have long favoured technical excellence over leadership development, and in many cases, there’s no clear alternative for employees looking to advance their careers. As long as managerial roles are seen as the only path to greater financial compensation and career growth, the cycle of promoting unprepared individuals into leadership positions will persist.

What’s particularly striking is that this issue is not new, yet we keep repeating the same pattern. Our busy, high-pressure work environments often force us to focus on short-term productivity and tangible outcomes, such as technical skill acquisition, while neglecting the ‘softer’, less immediately measurable skills necessary for effective leadership. Leadership development takes time, energy, and intentionality, none of which can be rushed. Yet, in many organisations, these critical leadership skills are only considered after someone has already been promoted. Despite the evidence showing that leadership skills are crucial to organisational success, many companies still emphasize technical training over leadership development, allowing the myth of the “accidental” manager to persist as an inevitable byproduct of this systemic neglect.

The reality is that our current organisational structures and cultural values have failed to create a world where technical experts and skilled leaders can both exist and thrive in ways that reflect their distinct contributions. Experts often find themselves taking on leadership roles not because they have a passion for management, but because it’s the only viable pathway for career progression. The lack of alternative career tracks means that experts who excel in their fields are often left with no choice but to transition into management if they want to continue advancing their careers, even if they lack the desire or the skills to lead. This creates a disconnect between what individuals are good at and what they are asked to do.

In summary, the term “accidental manager” might mislead us into thinking these situations are random, when in fact they are the product of a systemic failure to align career progression with individual strengths. We’ve allowed the myth that “good at one thing equals good at everything” to persist, and it has stifled the potential for both leadership excellence and technical expertise to coexist. Until organizations address these root causes—by valuing leadership development, creating alternative career tracks for experts, and recognizing leadership as a skill in its own right—the accidental manager will continue to be less of an accident and more of a self-inflicted organisational wound.