Have you hired a manager or a damager? 5 signs to watch for

Not every manager is a leader, and not every leader should be managing people.

You might have hired someone with the right CV, polished interview patter, and all the right answers. But months in, something’s off. The team looks exhausted. Innovation has flatlined. Your top talent is eyeing the exit. Sound familiar?

You haven’t hired a manager—you’ve hired a damager.

This isn’t about bad apples in the classic sense. Damagers can look perfectly competent on paper. They may deliver results and manage upwards like pros. But behind closed doors, they sow confusion, fear, and disengagement.

And the worst part? It often takes senior leadership far too long to notice.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) links poor management directly to rising stress levels, absenteeism, and retention issues. Gallup’s 2023 data confirms what HR leaders have suspected for years: managers account for up to 70% of variance in employee engagement.

Here are five warning signs you may have hired someone who’s not leading—they’re quietly eroding everything you’ve built.

1. Your top talent is disappearing (and fast)

High attrition is rarely random. When high performers suddenly become ‘former employees,’ the alarm bells should be deafening.

Sure, people leave jobs for better pay or new challenges. But when the exits come from the same team? That’s not a coincidence—it’s a pattern.

Damager managers often stifle growth, claim credit, or subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) sabotage rising stars. Good people don’t want to work under someone who makes them feel small.

And when they do leave? Their exit interviews are frustratingly polite: “Not the right fit anymore,” or “Just looking for something new.” Translation? “My boss made this job unbearable.”

1. Communication is a game of Chinese whispers

If every conversation with this manager leaves their team more confused than before, you’ve got a problem.

Damagers often issue cryptic instructions, pivot priorities without warning, or use jargon as a smokescreen for unclear thinking. And when things go sideways? They blame “poor execution” rather than their own lack of clarity.

In one hybrid UK company, team members described their manager’s communication style as “a riddle wrapped in an enigma.” Deadlines slipped. Projects stalled. And everyone felt they were constantly playing catch-up.

1. Micromanagement is their love language

You know the type. They hover. They nit-pick. They rewrite reports rather than review them. At first glance, it might look like dedication. In reality? It’s a chronic trust issue dressed up as ‘rigour.’

Micromanagers stunt growth. Talented team members shrink. Creativity dies. Over time, people stop offering ideas and just wait to be told what to do—because why bother?

One tell-tale sign? Everyone on their team seems burned out, bored, or both.

According to CIPD’s 2023 research, trust is a foundational pillar for hybrid team success. And micromanagement erodes that trust at every turn.

1. Feedback? they can dish it, but not take it

Ask their team about feedback and you’ll hear: “They don’t listen,” or worse, “They retaliate.”

A healthy team thrives on open dialogue. But damagers? They get defensive. They deflect. They make it unsafe to speak up.

One London-based tech firm reported an entire product squad shutting down after their manager repeatedly ignored (and then punished) internal critique. Psychological safety? Out the window.

Google’s famous Project Aristotle study proved that psychological safety is the #1 predictor of team performance. If your manager shuts down dissent or turns feedback into a weapon, your culture is already bleeding.

1. They manage work, not people

Damagers are transactional. They talk KPIs, not careers. They chase deliverables, not development. And their one-on-ones? If they happen at all, they’re awkward check-ins filled with to-do lists—not career paths.

When a team has a manager who doesn’t coach or care, ambition dies. Engagement plummets. And worse, you create a culture where potential goes to waste.

McKinsey’s 2023 data shows that lack of development conversations is among the top three reasons employees jump ship. And it’s often preventable.

How did this happen?

Here’s the hard truth: damagers often rise through the ranks because they look great on paper. They hit targets. They stay late. They know how to manage upwards.

What they don’t do? Build trust. Inspire people. Or lead with empathy.

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs Report, the most in-demand leadership skills are no longer technical. They’re human. Empathy. Resilience. People-centred decision-making.

If your hiring or promotion practices reward only output, you’re building a house of cards.

What senior leaders should be doing

1. Redefine success. People management isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s core to performance. Make coaching, feedback, and trust-building part of every manager’s scorecard.

2. Intervene early. Damagers rarely improve on their own. If team morale is in the gutter, don’t wait for annual reviews. Act fast.

3. Use real data. Engagement surveys, 360s, even attrition trends tell a story. Are you reading it?

4. Create safe escapes. Give employees a way to flag bad management without fear. Anonymity and psychological safety go hand-in-hand.

5. Coach or cut. Some managers can grow. Others need to go. Either way, doing nothing is the costliest option of all.

In the end, bad managers don’t just underperform. They drain energy, kill creativity, and quietly push talent away. Leaders must stop treating management as a reward and start treating it as a responsibility. Because when you put the wrong person in charge, you don’t just risk one team—you risk your entire culture.

So ask yourself: have you hired someone who builds or someone who breaks? And if it’s the latter—what are you going to do about it?