In 2015, aged just 34, not long out from being a regular schoolteacher, Angela Joyce suddenly found herself becoming Peterborough Regional College’s youngest-ever female CEO. And she vividly remembers her first day: “It suddenly hit me – I was ‘the’ leader now; there was no backing out.”
Joyce is now CEO of Capital City College (London’s largest further education provider), and the epitome of what calm and confident leadership looks like. Joyce actively sought out her first leadership role. But if even she had the collywobbles at first, consider the experience of the many leaders whose path is an unexpected one.
Data suggests that the majority of leaders are ‘accidental’ or ‘unexpected’ – often becoming so because of unplanned departures or by virtue of being good in their everyday job. Research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and YouGov suggests as many as 82% of new leaders in the UK receive no formal leadership training before assuming their leadership role. But when 60% of leaders globally have not received any leadership development (according to the Center for Creative Leadership), yet leadership quality is resoundingly known to correlate with better employee engagement and productivity, the inference is always that this lack of preparedness must be a bad thing. But is this really the case? The multi-million-pound leadership training sector will have you believe that pre-leadership learning is essential, but is there not an argument for saying that just-as-effective (if not better) leadership is gained by learning on the job?
Passionate views
“Being a technical expert is a discipline; being a leader is a discipline, but the two things are very different still,” says Julia Payne, ex-CEO at the Centre for High Performance, now a fractional CMO [chief marketing officer].
“Unexpected leadership is common, but this only makes leadership training ‘more’ essential because leadership skills need developing intentionally.”
Payne’s view – which she shares with many others – is that leadership is itself a whole different kettle of fish. It is what Rebecca Sutherland, entrepreneur and founder of accelerator firm HarbarSix, describes as “being skilled in allowing others to speak up, taking people with you and bringing out the best in people”.
“Is there not an argument for saying that just-as-effective (if not better) leadership is gained by learning on the job?”
Paul Vanderbroeck, executive coach and author of Lead Like Julius Caesar, argues: “Leaders need to learn leadership, by unlearning what they did before, because what they did before will no longer be relevant to how they must behave now. Yes, leadership is a competency that benefits from ‘learning by doing’, but learning by doing is not enough. Unexpected leaders tend to fit one of two moulds – the overly confident type or the great specialist. But both need a theoretical boost about what they should be doing.”
Enabling leadership to blossom
Sam Seigler’s view is that with a good environment around them, “unexpected leadership can work well”. It’s a view that harks to the sink or swim mentality, which suggests leadership potential only really rises to the top when those in position are thrown in at the deep end.
In 2016, when Steve Jefferys was promoted into a leadership role at a large Bristol-based marketing agency where he was suddenly responsible for 13 people, he says what quickly became apparent was “the difference between having control and having influence”. Jefferys, who now heads Your SHIFT – a consultancy that helps others make big shifts in their personal lives – says that ‘’leadership training might get you somewhere, but for me it was about being the best version of myself: listening properly, and holding back from jumping in. People can get hung up about the need to study leadership first.”
Is unexpected leadership ‘easier’ as demand rises for authenticity?
With being authentic, self-aware and having high EQ (emotional quotient) seemingly the top traits of modern leadership, some suggest this is an even greater reason to eschew the traditional, heavily academic-leaning model of leadership learning.
“Being a technical expert is a discipline; being a leader is a discipline, but the two things are very different still”
Indeed, the IoL’s recent leadership survey found that change is one constant that today’s leaders expect. In this environment, 79% of leaders say self-reflection and continuous improvement are key to their success.
Addressing the imposter phenomenon
“It’s the fear of being ‘found out’, of suddenly having responsibility for the actions of other people that is undoubtedly one of the most serious ramifications of unexpected leadership,” says Rob McKay, programme manager for Help To Grow Management at Manchester Metropolitan University.
And other research suggests leadership training calms this anxiety, with a CMI study suggesting managers who receive formal leadership training are substantially more likely to feel confident in their abilities (83% against 71% who do not). But even here there are entrenched differences of opinion.
Is being ‘good at your job’ enough to lead?
Returning to CEO of Capital City College, Angela Joyce, she acknowledges that while her experience means her leadership has probably become more refined, she’s clear that her mindset has stayed the same. It’s this that is the thing unexpected leaders need to attend to.
Many agree with her. “When you jump to leadership, you’re not just learning new skills, you’re rewiring your entire professional identity in real time,” says Annabelle Vultee, CEO at training provider GoodHabitz.
But, as Emma du Parcq, head of consulting, research and thought leadership at Roffey Park Institute recognises, leadership can’t – and doesn’t – always arrive by design. “It often emerges through circumstance. For the clinician that’s stepped up to navigate the complexities of a hospital trust, or the graduate with a master’s degree but limited lived experience… both need support to thrive as leaders.”
Challenge your thinking
It’s clear that with both sides in very clear camps, the merits of the value of unexpected leaders just learning as they go, or having formal training, will continue. It’s arguable that any skill, behaviour or attitude is capable of being learned, practised and improved. Leadership should, in theory, be no different.
Peter Crush is an award-winning HR-specialist journalist, writing about all aspects of leadership and the world of work.
This article is shortened version of the lead article ‘In at the deep end’ first published in the Winter 2025 issue of Edge. You can read the full version here
