The dizziness of digital business devours “accidental bosses”

These are what we call “accidental bosses”: professionals promoted on the basis of their technical merits, but without the necessary preparation to lead people. “Being a boss is not about commanding more, but about understanding people better,” explains Lourdes Carmona, team leadership expert and certified trainer in the Jack Canfield methodology. “Most promotions happen through good technical performance, but leading requires completely different skills: listening, communicating, inspiring and generating cohesion.”

To add to the complexity, digitalization has changed the rules of the game. Until recently, a boss could lead through physical proximity and direct control. Today, hybrid work and remote teams have completely transformed this logic. “Digital transformation involves not only the implementation of new tools, but also the transformation of relationships between people within organizations,” warns the Think Digital Report 2024, prepared by OBS Business School and Inesdi. This report highlights that only 27% of Spanish companies have integrated digital leadership training into their technology transformation plans. “The problem is not the technology, but who runs it,” the document explains. “Processes are being digitalized, but the human capabilities to manage them are evolving more slowly.”

Middle management

The COE warns of this gap: “Too many organizations continue to believe that good technicians will also be good leaders. But without training, this rarely happens.” According to the institute, two out of three middle managers have never received formal training in personnel management. The consequences are reflected in productivity, team cohesion and talent retention. He also specifies that middle managers represent the most pressured link in this chain: as the fulcrum of any organization, these professionals translate the management strategy into concrete tasks and manage the daily motivation of their teams. But, paradoxically, they are generally the ones who are largely forgotten in development and training plans.

“Middle management is the shock absorber of change,” explains Carmona. “He receives pressure from above, expectations from below and, on top of that, he has to maintain team morale.” Remote working has increased this pressure. Coordinating people working in different locations, maintaining group cohesion, and communicating through digital channels requires communication and empathy skills that many have not developed. “Remote management is not based on control, but on trust. And this represents a profound cultural change,” he explains.

Remote leadership has shown that a style based on constant supervision is ineffective. “Leadership in digital environments requires new emotional skills,” says Pablo Cardona, professor of people management at IESE Business School and author of several books on leadership. “The boss who previously led by presence must now do so by trust. “It requires empathy, clarity and purpose.” According to Deloitte, in its iHuman Capital Trends Report 2024, The most defining skills for today’s leadership are empathetic communication, emotional management and the ability to continuously learn. “It’s no longer a question of supervising, but of supporting,” explains Cardona. “Companies that do not understand this change run the risk of losing their best professionals, not because of salary, but because of the type of leadership.”

Uncertainty

Added to this is an increasing emotional burden. Middle managers must deal with uncertainty, shifting goals and fatigue within their teams, while receiving little psychological support or stress management training. A recent Gallup study indicates that managers experience the highest levels of burnout within organizations, even above executives. “It’s not just about learning to lead, but also about caring for those who lead,” says Carmona. In practice, the difference between a traditional boss and a digital leader can be seen in something as simple as a meeting. “A boss imposes tasks; a leader asks, listens and seeks solutions together. In a remote environment, this difference makes everything,” adds Carmona.

Therefore, promotion without preparation is, in many cases, a double-edged sword. “We are turning excellent technicians into bad bosses, and that frustrates both,” warns Carmona. The challenge is to replace the figure of the traditional boss with that of the leader-coach, capable of guiding, motivating and adapting. “Hierarchical leadership is obsolete. Today we lead by trust, not fear; by inspiration, not by order. According to Gartner data, 85% of new managers receive no training when they take on responsibilities. The consequence is an alarming failure rate for middle management, estimated at 60% during the first two years, due to the lack of tools and training materials.

The consulting firm McKinsey & Company has quantified this true “middle leadership crisis” on a global scale. According to your The State of Organizations 2024 report, 48% of companies admit that their middle managers do not have the skills necessary to lead in digital environments. The study highlights that middle managers are the key player in the execution of digital transformation strategies: they are the ones who translate senior management decisions into concrete actions. However, the lack of training in digital leadership and human skills – communication, management of uncertainty, motivation of hybrid teams – has generated a gap between strategy and operational reality. McKinsey warns that this disconnect threatens the internal cohesion and success of change processes. For this reason, he recommends investing in development and digital leadership programs to strengthen the role of middle management as an “agent of transformation”, and not just as an executor of orders.

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Some Spanish companies are starting to react. Banks, power companies and technology companies have created “middle leadership” or reverse mentoring programs so bosses can learn from younger, more digital profiles. It is a change in mentality that seeks to transform the structural error of automatic promotion into an opportunity for development. For Carmona, the key is to humanize management: “Leadership is not about being right, it’s about making others want to move forward with you. And it forms.