What Is an “Accidental Manager” (and Why So Common Now)?
An accidental manager is someone thrust into a leadership role without formal management training – often a top individual contributor promoted for technical success rather than people skills. Post‑COVID workplace upheavals accelerated this trend. During the pandemic and Great Resignation, many organisations filled gaps quickly, meaning inexperienced leaders suddenly found themselves managing hybrid teams.
In the UK, a staggering 82% of new managers have had no formal training in management or leadership www.theguardian.com. Gallup similarly found 70% of managers hadn’t been trained to lead in hybrid work settings gallup.com.
These well-intentioned but underprepared managers, accidental managers, are now embedded. People & Culture professionals report to us that they see them everywhere, and post‑COVID changes has made the issue more visible than ever.
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.
Investing in leadership development isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s mission-critical for culture and performance in the post‑COVID world. People and Culture leaders have a prime opportunity to turn accidental managers into intentional, adaptive leaders who can inspire their teams and reinforce organisational alignment. Ready to boost your leadership pipeline and culture?
Reach out to us at hello@flowprofiler.com and let us show your how our Leadershipflow® Pathways deliver outcomes
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