How ‘Accidental Managers’ Sink Teams and Sour Workplaces

Data operations employee Martha isn't the leader of her team—but she often feels like it.

She coordinates work schedules, prioritizes projects and advocates for her team members with upper management. (Martha is using a pseudonym to protect her identity). It's not that Martha's boss is MIA; it's that "he just seems much more interested in creating things than coordinating the team," she said.

So, as the next most senior member of the team, it falls on Martha to pick up many of these managerial tasks on top of her own projects. This dynamic might sound all-too-familiar as Martha is one of many employees dealing with the ramifications of an "accidental manager."

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