Thousands of professionals who excel in their current role get promoted in an organization and before they know it, they find themselves in senior and leadership roles with more responsibility, but without any support or training.
These professionals are good at their core jobs where they manage themselves or a small team. Being thrust in a leadership role where their decisions impact the whole organization can backfire for many.

Accidental Leaders

Leadership

A competent manager who is given a leadership role starts to have these problems:
<ol>
<li>Converging planning and execution, which requires people management skills, become a gray area for accidental leaders.</li>
<li>While they excel in short-term deliveries, accidental leaders need to understand that their work will now not impact the here and now, but the future of the company.</li>
</ol>

Accident Leaders And People Management Skills

An accidental leader is not trained for divergent thinking.
Change is crucial for any company, and a leader has to ensure that it remains growing, vibrant and viable by constantly driving the change using acquisitions, divestment, expansion or contraction.

Embrace Change

<ol>
<li>Make a difference by leading in an inspired way, embracing change and being courageous.</li>
<li>Have the willingness to live with ambiguity and uncertainty, while being optimistic.</li>
<li>Identify the team that is being led by you and study the leadership model that you should be providing.</li>
<li>Do a self-assessment and find out the skills that are lacking in you, then finding the right support structure to imbibe them.</li>
</ol>

What Accidental Leaders Need To Do

<img alt="The Accidental Leader" src="https://www.hult.edu/blog/media/uploads/2018/02/Professional.png"><img width="28" height="28" alt="Roger Delves" src="https://www.hult.edu/blog/media/uploads/2018/07/Roger-Delves-100x100.jpeg">I heard a phrase a while ago that stuck with me. It describes that familiar figure, the individual who stumbles into leadership–a stumble often caused because they are pushed. This person didn’t set out to lead, but because they were good at their functional specialty, they found themselves getting promoted, getting more responsibility, getting direct reports until suddenly…wow, they’re a manager who leads.They’re accidental leaders. Given the responsibility but often not the support. Given the title but often not the training. And there are tens of thousands of them. They are really good at their functional expertise – they’re great architects or engineers or chemists or whatever they excel in – but they struggle with the demands of leadership.<h3>So what should managers who lead do?</h3>1. Understand the best way to get things done as close to plan as possible. Managers are tasked with converging together planning and execution. The best way to get things done is to manage the people who are responsible for doing those things. Now for Accidental Leaders, this is often the most difficult area: they may have little idea of the skills associated with successful people management, but to do their jobs they need to have these leadership skills.2. Develop their skills to lead task focused teams which have to deliver against identified criteria in a timely way and within agreed parameters such as cost, consumed resource and so on. Managers live constantly in the here and now with short time horizons.Leaders, on the other hand, are different. These folk don’t manage much. They aren’t responsible for here and now. Instead, they look into the future and try to decide where the company should go next. They get their positions because they’re good at forward thinking, not necessarily because they’re good at leading into the future. So just like managers, they may need some help around the leadership elements of the role.Companies constantly need to change – change direction, change product mix, acquire, divest, expand, contract. Leaders decide what changes to make to keep the company growing, viable, vibrant. These leaders are divergent thinkers, seekers of new paths, creators of new shapes, who must persuade or inspire others that their vision is credible and achievable.<h3>So what should leaders focus on?</h3>1. Change is about difference–and people need to be inspired to be different, need the courage to be different, need the insight to be different. So leading change has to be inspirational, brave and insightful. You have to model the change!2. Divergence is about possibilities, about seeing why something might work, not why it might not work. So optimism and a willingness to live with ambiguity and uncertainty are really helpful leader skills which teams will appreciate and to which they will respond.So you see you can be an accidental leader whether you’re holding down a convergent or a divergent role. But the leadership skills you’ll require and the leader challenges you’ll face will be very different.So here’s my thought: if you’re an accidental leader struggling with the challenges of the role into which you’ve been thrust, don’t just grab desperately at the first Leadership program or MBA that comes your way. Decide what sort of team you’re leading. Understand what sort of leadership you should be providing. Reflect on what skills you lack. Then find the right structured support to help you deliver those skills.You might be an Accidental Leader, but you can find a purposeful solution.<h3>Join the Global Generation</h3>It’s no longer enough to follow the paths of the past—that’s why Hult has designed a business school that looks to the future by focusing on developing your leadership skills, challenging you with a rigorous curriculum, and building the perspective that only first-hand global experience can bring. To learn about Hult’s Global One-Year MBA, download a <a href="https://www.hult.edu/en/landing/templates-pg-2016/default-template-mba/?utm_source=HultBlog&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=blog_pg_thoughtleadership_accidentallead_12643" dir="ltr">brochure.</a>Roger Delves is Dean and Professor of Practice at Ashridge Executive Education at Hult International Business School. Director of both the Ashridge MBA and Masters in Management Roger has been involved with Hult as an Adjunct Professor since 2009, and in previously was voted MBA Professor of the Year by both MBA and EMBA students of Hult’s London campus. His special interests are understanding the roles of authenticity, emotional intelligence, ethics and integrity in leadership and in decision making.Grow your leadership capabilities with an <a href="https://www.hult.edu/en/programs/mba/" dir="ltr">MBA in international business</a> at Hult. To learn more, take a look at our blog <a href="https://www.hult.edu/blog/train-like-a-boss/" dir="ltr">Train like a boss: Preparing for the mental and physical rigors of leadership</a>, or give your career a boost with our <a href="https://www.hult.edu/en/programs/masters/international-business/" dir="ltr">Masters in International Business</a>. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself.

Given the responsibility but often not the support. Given the title but often not the training. Really good at their functional expertise – make for great architects or engineers or whatever they excel in – but they struggle with the demands of leadership. They're accidental leaders.

Career

I heard a phrase a while ago that stuck with me. It describes that familiar figure, the individual who stumbles into leadership–a stumble often caused because they are pushed. This person didn’t set out to lead, but because they were good at their functional specialty, they found themselves getting promoted, getting more responsibility, getting direct reports until suddenly…wow, they’re a manager who leads.

They’re accidental leaders. Given the responsibility but often not the support. Given the title but often not the training. And there are tens of thousands of them. They are really good at their functional expertise – they’re great architects or engineers or chemists or whatever they excel in – but they struggle with the demands of leadership.

1. Understand the best way to get things done as close to plan as possible. Managers are tasked with converging together planning and execution. The best way to get things done is to manage the people who are responsible for doing those things. Now for Accidental Leaders, this is often the most difficult area: they may have little idea of the skills associated with successful people management, but to do their jobs they need to have these leadership skills.

2. Develop their skills to lead task focused teams which have to deliver against identified criteria in a timely way and within agreed parameters such as cost, consumed resource and so on. Managers live constantly in the here and now with short time horizons.

Leaders, on the other hand, are different. These folk don’t manage much. They aren’t responsible for here and now. Instead, they look into the future and try to decide where the company should go next. They get their positions because they’re good at forward thinking, not necessarily because they’re good at leading into the future. So just like managers, they may need some help around the leadership elements of the role.

Companies constantly need to change – change direction, change product mix, acquire, divest, expand, contract. Leaders decide what changes to make to keep the company growing, viable, vibrant. These leaders are divergent thinkers , seekers of new paths, creators of new shapes, who must persuade or inspire others that their vision is credible and achievable.

1. Change is about difference –and people need to be inspired to be different, need the courage to be different, need the insight to be different. So leading change has to be inspirational, brave and insightful. You have to model the change!

2. Divergence is about possibilities, about seeing why something might work, not why it might not work. So optimism and a willingness to live with ambiguity and uncertainty are really helpful leader skills which teams will appreciate and to which they will respond.

So you see you can be an accidental leader whether you’re holding down a convergent or a divergent role. But the leadership skills you’ll require and the leader challenges you’ll face will be very different.

So here’s my thought: if you’re an accidental leader struggling with the challenges of the role into which you’ve been thrust, don’t just grab desperately at the first Leadership program or MBA that comes your way. Decide what sort of team you’re leading. Understand what sort of leadership you should be providing. Reflect on what skills you lack. Then find the right structured support to help you deliver those skills.

You might be an Accidental Leader, but you can find a purposeful solution.

It’s no longer enough to follow the paths of the past—that’s why Hult has designed a business school that looks to the future by focusing on developing your leadership skills, challenging you with a rigorous curriculum, and building the perspective that only first-hand global experience can bring. To learn about Hult’s Global One-Year MBA, download a <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.hult.edu/en/landing/templates-pg-2016/default-template-mba/?utm_source=HultBlog&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=blog_pg_thoughtleadership_accidentallead_12643">brochure. </a>

Roger Delves is Dean and Professor of Practice at Ashridge Executive Education at Hult International Business School. Director of both the Ashridge MBA and Masters in Management Roger has been involved with Hult as an Adjunct Professor since 2009, and in previously was voted MBA Professor of the Year by both MBA and EMBA students of Hult’s London campus. His special interests are understanding the roles of authenticity, emotional intelligence, ethics and integrity in leadership and in decision making.

Grow your leadership capabilities with an <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.hult.edu/en/programs/mba/">MBA in international business </a>at Hult. To learn more, take a look at our blog <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.hult.edu/blog/train-like-a-boss/">Train like a boss: Preparing for the mental and physical rigors of leadership </a>, or give your career a boost with our <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.hult.edu/en/programs/masters/international-business/">Masters in International Business </a>. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

The Accidental Leader

Accidental Leaders

Accident Leaders And People Management Skills

Embrace Change

What Accidental Leaders Need To Do

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

Getting Promoted Isn’t the Same as Being a Leader

The Two Attributes of Any Great Leader

Leadership disrupted: Pushing the boundaries

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

The Accidental Leader

Accidental Leaders

Accident Leaders And People Management Skills

Embrace Change

What Accidental Leaders Need To Do

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

Getting Promoted Isn’t the Same as Being a Leader

The Two Attributes of Any Great Leader

Leadership disrupted: Pushing the boundaries

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career