Why Good Managers Fail — and What Great Ones Do Differently

Let’s talk about the awkward truth most leadership books won’t touch with a ten-foot performance review: good managers fail all the time.

They fail not because they’re bad at their jobs, but because they confuse competency with leadership. They follow playbooks, hit KPIs, conduct polite one-on-ones, and yet. . . . their teams underperform, their top talent walks, and their culture flatlines.

Here’s the rub: being good is no longer good enough.

Good managers manage tasks. Great managers multiply people.

Good managers are efficient. Deadlines? Met. Budgets? Balanced. Team calendars? Color-coded like a Wes Anderson film.

But here’s the kicker — they manage work. Great managers develop people. They take the time to ask uncomfortable questions like:

• What do you want to be doing two years from now?
• What part of your job drains you?
• How can I help you be braver, not just busier?

Great managers see their job as force multiplication. They know the team’s growth compounds when individuals grow. They don’t just assign projects — they assign purpose.

Good managers avoid conflict. Great managers embrace truth.

Let me be clear: avoiding conflict is not kindness — it’s avoidance with a smile.

Good managers smooth things over. They don’t want to rock the boat, ruffle feathers, or trigger Slack drama. So they sweep dysfunction under the rug and call it “maintaining harmony.”

Great managers? They seek truth over comfort. They create a space where hard conversations aren’t feared — they’re expected. They know unresolved tension doesn't go away; it metastasizes.

If you’re afraid to tell someone they’re underperforming, you may have just signed up for a six-month retention problem disguised as a culture problem.

Good managers want to be liked. Great managers want to be respected.

This one’s brutal.

Good managers throw birthday parties and send thank-you emojis. They crowdsource decisions so no one gets upset. And yes, everyone likes them — until they don’t.

Great managers know that leadership isn’t a popularity contest, it’s a responsibility. They’re okay being the villain in someone’s Slack story if it means protecting the team’s standards.

They make tough calls. They say “no” to shiny distractions. They enforce accountability even when it’s inconvenient. That’s how trust is built: through consistency, not charm.

Good managers play defense. Great managers play offense.

Good managers react. They put out fires, reschedule meetings, and track project timelines like their Fitbit depends on it. They live in a world of what just happened.

Great managers live in what’s next. They anticipate friction, build pipelines before there’s a shortage, and develop their team’s next role before it becomes a job req.

They don’t just keep things running — they make things run better.

Great management is proactive, not reactive. Strategic, not just tactical. It’s the difference between renting performance and owning outcomes.

Good managers follow process. Great managers redesign it.

Here’s a dirty secret: many companies are addicted to process. It’s comforting. It’s measurable. It’s predictable. And in the wrong hands, it’s a bureaucratic prison cell disguised as productivity.

Good managers love process. Great managers challenge it.

They ask:

• Does this meeting need to exist?
• Why do we need three approvals for this $300 software subscription?
• Is this job description solving a real problem, or just reposting last year’s wish list?

They’re not anarchists. They’re innovators. And in a world where speed beats size, agility is the new advantage.

The bottom line

Good managers check boxes. Great managers light fires.

They make people braver. They make systems smarter. They make the workplace feel less like a machine and more like a mission. They are multipliers, not middlemen.

So if you’re a manager asking, “Why am I doing everything right, but not getting the results?” — maybe you’re not doing the wrong things.

You’re just not doing the right things differently enough.

Because in today’s world, good often gets ignored. And only great gets remembered.

This post was first published in Brian’s “The Talent Architects” newsletter.

Brian Fink is a Talent Acquisition Partner at McAfee with over 18 years of recruiting experience, including roles at Apple, Twitter, and Amazon Web Services. Renowned for his expertise in recruitment tooling, Boolean search, and sourcing strategies, he is also the author of Talk Tech to Me, a guide simplifying tech recruiting for non-technical professionals. His approach emphasizes empathy, strategic thinking, and building lasting relationships in talent acquisition. Join the conversation on his weekly newsletter, The Talent Architects.