Most Managers Aren’t Trained. Here’s How That Affects Your Career
Let’s get one thing out of the way early:
Many managers are underprepared for the job they’re doing.
That’s not an insult. It’s an observation.
Most managers don’t know how to advocate effectively for their people, not because they don’t care, but because they were never taught how. If companies consistently trained managers well, far fewer employees would feel stuck, frustrated, or confused about how decisions are made.
The truth is that many managers were promoted for being strong individual contributors, not because they were equipped to lead people. Companies often reward performance first and hope leadership skills follow. Sometimes they do. Often, they don’t.
Over time, that gap shows up as missed feedback, unclear expectations, and stalled careers without explanation.
Why This Keeps Happening
Management is one of the few roles where people are routinely promoted without formal preparation.
Early in my career, I worked for a company that invested heavily in management development. New managers went through months of structured training covering interviewing, employee development, difficult conversations, and leadership decision-making. They practiced before they were expected to perform.
That kind of investment is far less common today.
After years of cost-cutting, reorganizations, and efficiency pushes, manager training has quietly become optional. The result is predictable: people are asked to lead without being taught how leadership decisions actually work.
Showing Your Manager Some Grace (Without Lowering the Bar)
One of the most practical career skills you can develop is giving your manager the benefit of the doubt while still holding yourself to a high standard.
Most managers don’t wake up intending to damage someone’s career. They’re navigating pressure from above, limited authority, and expectations they didn’t design.
That doesn’t mean all managers are good. It means most are operating inside constraints they don’t fully control.
Strong managers rarely need to announce their competence. Their results show up in the growth of their people, the strength of their teams, and the trust they earn over time.
The Gap Most Careers Fall Into
There’s a quiet mismatch at work in most organizations:
Many managers were never trained to lead
Many employees were never taught how performance is evaluated
Think about your first week on the job. You likely learned systems, policies, and processes. But few people are taught:
How to disagree constructively in meetings
How leaders actually define “top performance.”
How career decisions are evaluated behind closed doors
How to make their manager’s job easier instead of harder
Managers assume employees will figure this out.
Employees assume managers will correct them if they’re off track.
Both assumptions are usually wrong.
What Employees Often Confuse With Top Performance
Employees often describe themselves as top performers because they:
Show up consistently
Delivered a big win in the past
Execute projects efficiently
Score well on metrics or engagement surveys
All of these matter. None of them is sufficient on its own.
Here’s how those signals are often interpreted by decision-makers.
Attendance
Showing up is expected. Leaders care more about impact, energy, and judgment than perfect attendance records.
Past Wins
Yesterday’s success explains why you were hired or retained. Promotions are determined by current and future needs.
Project Execution
Efficiency matters, but outcomes matter more. Leaders evaluate whether work moved the business forward, not just whether it was completed well.
Strong Metrics
High scores are valuable, but the strongest performers elevate others. They share knowledge, build capability, and reduce risk for the team.
This is one example of how workplace decisions actually get made
Performance is only one input. Leaders are also weighing risk, trust, judgment, and the ability to operate within constraints.
I break these decision patterns down, and many others that affect your career, in How Managers Decide, Remember, and Defend Your Work.
How High Performers Close the Gap
The shift happens when employees stop guessing and start asking.
Have an explicit conversation with your manager about what performance looks like at three levels:
What keeps me solidly employed?
What meets expectations?
What earns expanded trust and opportunity?
Then share your goals and how you plan to demonstrate readiness. Not entitlement. Readiness.
Deadlines, scope, and resources can be negotiated.
Accountability, initiative, and communication are signals leaders notice quickly.
The Real Bottom Line
You can’t control your manager’s skill level, company politics, or market conditions.
You can control how you interpret decisions and respond to them.
Being a top performer isn’t about working harder or being louder. It’s about understanding what leaders value, aligning your behavior with those priorities, and making yourself a lower-risk choice when decisions are made.
That’s how you become someone your manager is willing to advocate for, even when they’re stretched or imperfect.
See you at the after party,
HRNasty
nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.
Ongoing writing and context live on LinkedIn and Bluesky.
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