The Accidental Manager: When Being Good at Your Job Isn’t Enough

The accidental manager is a familiar figure in many organisations. They are highly skilled in their role and have shown that the organisation can rely upon them. As a result, they are promoted into management.

They are then expected to delegate, motivate a team, give constructive feedback and manage a range of different personalities. However, the technical expertise that earned them the promotion does not automatically prepare them for the responsibility of leading people.

Without the right support, a new manager can find themselves learning an entirely different role while continuing to do much of their previous work.

The accidental manager’s two roles

One way to understand the accidental manager problem is to divide the role into two areas.

The first is doing the work. This is the established territory of technical expertise, specialist knowledge, systems and tangible deliverables.

The second is leading the people. This involves coaching, managing expectations, addressing underperformance and understanding why people respond differently to workplace situations.

If you are a manager, think about your average working week. How much time do you spend doing the work? How much do you devote to leading people?

Many managers discover that they still devote most of their time and energy to the first area. Their workload is one reason for this, but technical work can also feel more comfortable.

Why technical work feels safer

When we perform familiar tasks, our brains draw upon well-established patterns. We usually understand both the process and the likely outcome.

People management contains far more variables. A conversation that motivates one person might make another feel pressured. Concise instructions may be welcomed by one team member but interpreted as abrupt by someone else.

These situations place greater demands on the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in decision-making and complex social interactions. As a result, for some managers, people management consumes considerably more mental energy than a routine technical task.

Difficult conversations and conflict within a team can also activate the brain’s threat response. In the workplace, this frequently appears as avoidance. We postpone the conversation and return to technical work we know how to do.

This doesn’t mean the manager is lazy or unconcerned. It might mean that they lack a reliable framework for handling the less predictable human elements of their role.

The accidental manager’s technical trap

Imagine a normally reliable team member who has become increasingly quiet and has missed several deadlines.

A task-focused manager might open the project tracker and send a direct message:

‘I’ve noticed that deliverables X and Y are overdue. Please send me an updated status report by 3pm today.’

The request appears reasonable, but it treats the situation solely as a problem with output. It doesn’t explore what has changed for the individual or create the conditions in which they can speak honestly.

The team member may feel judged or micromanaged. Instead of explaining what is really happening, they might provide the quickest answer that will end the exchange.

The manager has addressed the overdue tasks, but not necessarily the underlying performance issue.

Understanding our behavioural defaults

A behavioural framework can help managers remove some of the guesswork from these interactions.

The Jigsaw Discovery Tool identifies four broad behavioural preferences. Action Red is fast-paced and focused on outcomes. Creative Yellow is energetic and drawn to ideas and possibilities. Supporting Green places greater emphasis on people, harmony and collaboration, while Organised Blue values evidence, precision and process.

These preferences are not intended to place people into boxes. They provide a lens through which we can understand how people process information and approach their work.

They also help us recognise our own default behaviour. Under pressure, we tend to rely more heavily on the style that feels most natural.

A Red manager may become more direct and place greater emphasis on deadlines. A Blue manager might concentrate increasingly on detail and processes. Meanwhile, a Green manager may avoid conflict to protect team harmony, while a Yellow manager might respond by generating a stream of new ideas.

The intention is usually positive, but other people may experience the behaviour differently. Decisiveness can be interpreted as aggression, and attention to detail can feel like micromanagement. A desire for consensus may appear indecisive, while idea generation can look chaotic to someone who needs greater structure.

Without self-awareness, our natural strengths can become blind spots.

Moving beyond management on autopilot

Let’s return to the team member who has missed several deadlines.

Instead of immediately requesting a status report, the manager could pause and consider the person as well as the task. They might arrange a brief conversation and say:

‘I’ve noticed we’ve had a particularly busy few weeks. How are things going for you at the moment?’

The manager can then explore the person’s workload and ask what support might help. This approach doesn’t mean ignoring missed deadlines or avoiding accountability. It creates enough psychological safety to discover what is driving the problem before deciding how to address it.

The most effective approach will depend on the individual. Some people value a direct, concise conversation. Others may need more detail and time to process what they have heard.

Before your next important conversation, pause and ask yourself:

Am I responding on autopilot, or am I considering what the person in front of me needs?

That brief pause gives you an opportunity to choose your approach rather than falling back on the behaviour that feels safest.

Helping the accidental manager lead by design

People are often promoted into management because they have demonstrated commitment and technical expertise. Those qualities remain valuable, but they do not automatically prepare someone for the complexities of leading a team.

Managers need practical support to understand their own behaviour and recognise the needs of other people. They also need opportunities to build their confidence and adapt their communication. With that support, difficult conversations become easier to approach and managers can gradually step away from solving every technical problem themselves.

The transition from expert to leader doesn’t happen simply because someone receives a new job title. It begins when the accidental manager stops managing on instinct and starts leading by design.

This article is based on our recent webinar, The Accidental Manager: From Expert to Leader. In the session, Michelle explores the neuroscience behind the accidental manager trap and uses the Jigsaw Discovery Behavioural Framework to show how managers can adapt their approach in real workplace situations. You can watch the complete webinar below.

If your organisation would like to help new and developing managers understand workplace behaviour and improve communication within their teams, please get in touch to find out how the Jigsaw Discovery Tool could support them.