In most workplaces, top performers are seen as natural candidates for promotion. They consistently deliver, go the extra mile, and are trusted by leadership. So, when a management position opens up, it feels logical to elevate them into it. But what happens when these high-performing individuals are promoted into leadership roles without the training or support they need?
Quite a bit can go wrong, and it often does.
The rise of the accidental manager
Many of these newly minted managers are what experts call accidental managers. Promoted for their technical excellence rather than leadership potential, they’re suddenly in charge of people, often overnight. In the UK alone, 82% of managers fall into this category, that’s over 2.4 million people leading without formal management training. Globally, fewer than 30% of new managers receive structured leadership development.
This leads to a leadership pipeline built more on past performance than future capability.
The cost of accidental managers
Managers are struggling with over 75% of frontline managers reporting symptoms of burnout, especially in high-growth or hybrid settings. As top performers are promoted without support, many face anxiety, imposter syndrome, and a rising trend of “empathy burnout” emotional overload that makes it harder to meet the relational demands of leadership.
The impact of accidental managers goes far beyond the manager’s own stress, it ripples across teams and entire organisations. Gallup finds that 70% of the variance in employee engagement is linked to the manager. Poorly trained or overwhelmed managers often create environments marked by unclear expectations, inconsistent feedback, and unstable team dynamics.
The cost is real: teams under ineffective managers are 21% less productive and 22% less profitable. Half of all employees say they’ve left a job to escape a bad boss.
Not just a skills gap
Some might argue the solution is training people more rigorously. But Gartner warns that training alone isn’t enough, many of them don’t want to be managers. In one survey, one in five said they’d step out of their people management role if they could. This isn’t just about teaching people how to give feedback, it’s about preparing them for an entirely different job.
That preparation is rare. Data from Wonderlic shows that 57% of managers say they learned leadership through trial and error, and only 10% of senior leaders believe their organizations effectively prepare first-line managers.
What’s the fix?
The problem isn’t the accidental manager but the lack of systems to support their success. Leadership can be learned with the right conditions. Coaching frameworks like the STAR method help build inquiry-led, reflective leadership that drives team performance.
Organisations that invest in structured development for new managers see up to 25% gains in productivity and are four times more likely to financially outperform competitors, building the kind that fuels growth, retention, and resilience.
With the right tools and coaching, accidental managers can become intentional leaders. And when they do, businesses get stronger too.
Serein helps turn accidental managers into intentional leaders. Reach out to hello@serein.in to build the systems your top performers need to succeed.
