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Under-trained leaders can be detrimental to the success of their team and broader organisation if not addressed and adequately trained, a leadership expert has said.
Businesses must avoid promoting ‘accidental leaders’, expert cautions
26 May 2025
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8 minute read
Accidental leaders can negatively impact their team and business processes by inflicting stress, burnout, low staff morale and disengagement.
Accidental leadership occurs when an employee within a business or firm is promoted to a position of ‘power’ without being properly trained with the right tools, techniques and strategies to be a leader.
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Speaking on a recent Under the Hood podcast episode, Kylie Denton, director of Performance Advisory Group, said being promoted to a leadership position could be difficult for those who were good at their job, but had never been given the right tools, resources or training skills to effectively lead people.
“People are really complex. So, how we lead one person doesn’t fit into how we might lead another person. It’s the same concept in any role, for example, you wouldn't put a doctor in a role without giving them the right training,” she said.
“I see so often we put people into a leadership role, but we don’t give them that full training or support that they need. When this happens, I see increased stress and burnout. I see low staff morale and disengaged staff.”
“I also often see that staff become confused, or there’s a misunderstanding, or conflict within the team. This leads to people not being able to articulate what the top three goals of a company are and how they play a role in it.”
Despite accidental leaders often having a negative impact on their team, Denton said it could be a positive tool to highlight the accountability of the accidental leader and bring awareness to it.
According to Denton, there were 25 core competencies which an effective leader should model and demonstrate on a day-to-day basis to help them lead their team and company to success.
Some of the core competencies included strategic thinking, effective communication, accountability, performance management, emotional intelligence and how to build resilience.
“For me, you can't be good at all of them at once. What I'm often saying to leaders is, this is an opportunity for you to ask yourself, where am I strong? And what core competencies do I need to develop?” she said.
“It’s not a bad thing that people have never been trained in this. It's just an opportunity for them to ask themselves, ‘What do I need to do now to close those gaps? What we know from research is that leadership is a learned skill. It's not something you're born with.”
To avoid accidental leadership, Denton said she often recommended that current leaders engage in succession planning and establish feedback loops with their employees to see what worked best for the team before handing that responsibility to someone else.
It was also noted that accidental leadership and learning how to avoid it, or tackle it, were challenging for businesses of all sizes.
“Our staff, with the four generations that are coming through, are needing us to lead differently. Leadership is evolving. It used to be command and control when I first came into the industry.”
“It’s now all about collaboration, empathy and connection. So, we’ve got to continue to grow and evolve as a leader. Leadership is a journey, not a destination. Don’t think just because you’ve got a leadership title, that’s it, you’re done. Being a leader is about continuing to grow and learn.”
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