Was the last person promoted into management within your organisation selected because they demonstrated exceptional leadership potential, or because they were consistently good at their existing job? 

For many organisations, the answer is likely the latter. 

It’s an understandable approach. When someone consistently delivers results, demonstrates technical expertise and earns colleague respect, promoting them seems a natural next step. 

But there’s a fundamental problem with this assumption: being good at doing the work and being good at leading the people who do it are two very different things. 

And the consequences of overlooking that distinction can be significant. 

The rise of the accidental manager   

Research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has highlighted a longstanding challenge in UK workplaces: 82% of managers who enter management roles have not received formal management and leadership training. 

These are often described as accidental managers: people who find themselves responsible for leading teams without having been equipped with the skills or confidence to do so effectively. 

They may be excellent specialists. But suddenly, they’re expected to manage performance, navigate difficult conversations, motivate colleagues, resolve conflict and support employee wellbeing. 

These responsibilities require a different set of skills. 

And while technical knowledge can establish credibility, it doesn’t automatically teach someone how to give constructive feedback, delegate effectively or build a high-performing team. 

We wouldn’t expect someone to become a skilled engineer without training. Why should leadership be any different? 

The hidden cost of promoting without preparing    

The impact of underprepared management extends far beyond the individual who has been promoted. 

Managers shape much of the day-to-day employee experience. They influence how supported people feel, how effectively teams communicate, colleagues’ developmental opportunities and how confidently challenges are addressed. 

CMI further highlights the significant impact that management quality can have on employee retention. Half (50%) of employees who consider their manager ineffective intend to leave their organisation within the next 12 months, compared with just 21% of those who rate their manager as effective.  

This demonstrates why investing in leadership development isn’t simply about improving management skills. It’s also about retaining talent, supporting employee wellbeing and creating a more engaged and productive workforce. 

When managers lack the necessary skills, the consequences can ripple throughout an organisation. 

Employees may experience unclear expectations, inconsistent feedback or a lack of meaningful development opportunities. Difficult conversations may be avoided until relatively small problems become much larger ones. 

Meanwhile, newly promoted managers can find themselves overwhelmed by responsibilities they were never taught to handle. They may be working longer hours, struggling to delegate or feeling pressure to have all the answers. 

Over time, these challenges can affect engagement, productivity, retention and wellbeing. 

Thus, organisations can find themselves losing two valuable assets at once: an outstanding technical specialist and the opportunity to develop an effective leader. 

Leadership shouldn’t be learned entirely through trial and error   

Of course, experience matters and some of the most valuable leadership lessons come from navigating real workplace challenges, making decisions and learning from mistakes. 

But experience alone shouldn’t be an organisation’s entire leadership development strategy. 

Effective managers need opportunities to develop practical capabilities, including communication, coaching, delegation, performance management, emotional intelligence and decision-making. 

They also need the confidence to recognise when they don’t have all the answers, seek support and adapt their approach to different people and situations. 

These capabilities can be developed through structured learning, mentoring, feedback and opportunities to practise new skills. 

Importantly, leadership development doesn’t need to begin with someone’s first management appointment. 

In fact, there is a strong argument that it should begin much earlier. 

Developing tomorrow’s leaders today   

What would happen if organisations identified and supported future leaders before promoting them? 

Rather than waiting until someone takes responsibility for a team, employers could provide aspiring managers with opportunities to develop leadership skills while they are still in their existing roles. 

This might involve mentoring colleagues, leading projects, participating in professional development programmes or gaining experience in communication and decision-making. 

It also means recognising that not every outstanding technical professional wants to become a manager. 

Creating meaningful progression routes for specialists, alongside leadership pathways, allows organisations to retain expertise without making people management the only route to career advancement. 

For those who do aspire to lead, early development can make the transition more manageable and purposeful. 

Instead of expecting newly appointed managers to work everything out for themselves, organisations can give them a foundation on which to build. This benefits everyone: the individual, their team and the wider organisation. 

It’s time to rethink what promotion really means   

Perhaps the question organisations should be asking isn’t simply, “Who deserves the next promotion?” 

It’s “Who has the potential to lead, and what support do they need to succeed?” 

Recognising performance is important. But recognising performance and preparing someone for leadership shouldn’t be treated as the same thing. 

As organisations navigate changing workforce expectations, technological developments and growing pressure to improve productivity, effective management is becoming increasingly important. 

Leadership development isn’t just an investment in individual career progression. It’s an investment in organisational resilience, employee experience and long-term performance. 

The strongest organisations won’t necessarily be those with the most technically capable managers. 

They’ll be those that recognise leadership as a skill worth developing, rather than a responsibility people are simply expected to grow into. 

So, are we doing enough to prepare people for leadership, or are we still expecting our best performers to become great managers by accident? 

Explore your next step in professional development 

At Activate Learning, we work with individuals and employers to explore professional development pathways and opportunities that support career progression and workforce capability.