What Is an “Accidental Manager” (and Why So Common Now)?

An accidental manager is someone who moves into a management role because they are technically capable, experienced or successful in their existing job, but has had little or no preparation for managing people.

Being good at the work does not automatically prepare someone to lead the people doing the work.

The Chartered Management Institute describes accidental managers as people promoted into management without formal management or leadership training. Its research found that 82% of managers entered management without formal training before taking on the role.

The issue is not that these managers lack potential. Many are highly capable people. The problem is that organisations can change the role without developing the capability required to perform it.

New managers may suddenly be expected to set expectations, give feedback, address performance, manage conflict, coach others, make decisions and keep people engaged, often while continuing to deliver much of their previous technical workload.

That creates a management capability gap, and it is one organisations can address.

Why Accidental Managers Threaten Culture and Performance

Untrained managers can unintentionally sow chaos. Research highlights serious risks to organisational culture, alignment, and performance.

Nearly one-third of UK workers have quit a job due to negative workplace culture tied to poor management theguardian.com, and 28% cite a bad relationship with their boss as a past reason for leaving. Low engagement is a red flag too: Gallup’s 2023 report showed only 10% of British employees are engaged at work, one of the lowest engagement rates in Europe. This disengagement crisis carries hefty costs (estimated at £257 billion annually in lost productivity for the). Crucially, Gallup attributes 70% of the variance in team engagement to the manager’s influence gallup.com.

In short, when accidental managers struggle, their teams often disengage, performance suffers, and alignment with company goals falters. Conversely, companies with strong, skilled management see up to 15% higher financial performance than those with weaker management deloitte.com. It’s no wonder Deloitte’s 2023 research found nearly half of surveyed organisations feel their leaders are overwhelmed by today’s trends, with only 23% believing their leaders can effectively navigate current disruptions hrdive.com. The message is clear: underinvestment in leadership development has left a gap, and it’s hurting culture and the bottom line.

From Accidental Manager to Adaptive Leader | The Opportunity

Here’s the good news: leadership skills can be learned and improved. McKinsey notes that only about 10% of people are naturals at being great managers – but the rest can develop the necessary skills with training mckinsey.com. Rather than accept the status quo, organisations can reframe accidental managers as an untapped opportunity. By investing in manager training, from coaching and communication to adaptive leadership and emotional intelligence (EQ), companies can transform struggling supervisors into confident, competent leaders. flowprofiler® specialises in this space.

Modern research and tools reinforce this: Deloitte’s findings show many frontline managers lack experience, prompting employers to increase training for new leaders hrdive.com. Effective programs focus on behavioural competencies (like resilience, empathy, emotional regulation and adaptive leadership) that drive team engagement and agility. For example, flowprofiler® principles emphasise developing these competencies as observable behaviours that can be cultivated with practice www.flowprofiler.com. Equipping managers with such skills builds their confidence and emotional intelligence, which in turn fosters psychological safety, trust, and alignment within teams. When managers learn to coach rather than micromanage, to listen and adapt, they create high-performing environments.

As McKinsey observes, organisations with better engagement and “organisational health” enjoy lower turnover, higher customer loyalty, and greater productivity and profitability mckinsey.com.

Build the Capability the Role Now Requires

Promoting someone into management changes the job.

The development should change with it.

New and accidental managers may need practical support across feedback, delegation, coaching, difficult conversations, emotional regulation, accountability and leading people under pressure.

flowprofiler® can help organisations identify where development is most useful, then build the behavioural capability managers need in their actual working environment.

For some organisations, that means targeted workshops or assessment-led development.

For others, it means a broader Leadershipflow® Pathway that aligns leadership behaviour with organisational priorities and tracks what changes back at work.

References

  • Stewart, H. (2023). Bad management has prompted one in three UK workers to quit, survey finds. The Guardian www.theguardian.com

  • Gallup (2023). In New Workplace, U.S. Employee Engagement Stagnates gallup.com. Gallup Workplace Research.

  • Gallup (2024). State of the Global Workplace 2024/2025 . Gallup Research.

  • Deloitte (2023). 2023 Global Human Capital Trends – Leadership Gap (via HR Dive) www.hrdive.com

  • McKinsey & Co. (2021). Better bosses: Changing the way we lead post pandemic mckinsey.com. McKinsey Insights.

  • flowprofiler® (2025). Leadershipflow® Competencies