Written By Cari Borden

You’ve probably seen the post:

“Top performers don’t leave companies… they leave lazy managers.”

It’s catchy. It’s viral. It’s… not always true.

Yes, there are managers who clock in mentally at 10 and check out at 2, but painting all underperforming leadership with the same “lazy” brush does more than stereotype, it stalls growth. For everyone.

Because here’s a thought:
What if they’re not lazy… but lost?

What if what we’re calling laziness is actually learned helplessness?
What if many of these leaders are simply mirroring the behaviors they observed from their own managers, the ones who led through silence, busyness, fear, or favoritism?

It’s easy to look at someone floundering and say “they don’t care.”
But it’s much harder, and much more productive, to pause and ask:
Do they know what to do?
Do they know how to lead differently?
Have they ever been shown a better way?

We need to talk about stereotyping in leadership the same way we do in other spaces, because it’s just as damaging. We’re quick to label frontline staff with a “skill gap,” but when a leader is struggling? It’s almost always seen as a “will gap.”

And that bias?
It’s a culture-killer.

Skill vs. Will: Why It Matters

A skill gap means you don’t know how—yet.
A will gap means you don’t want to.

But if we default to will-based assumptions without observing actual behaviors, without coaching, without offering tools or models, we’ve robbed that person of a chance to grow.

And we’ve robbed the organization of a future high-performing leader.

Some managers were handed titles but never trained.
Others were thrown into fire without water.
Most were told what not to do, but never taught what to do.

So, what do they do?
They copy what they’ve seen. They protect themselves.
And eventually, they stop trying.

We don’t excuse the harm bad managers can do. But we can challenge the systems that left them there, unsupported, untrained, and then shamed for it.

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🛠️ So, What Do We Do Instead?

• Observe behavior, not labels. Are they avoiding feedback? Micromanaging? Not recognizing wins? These are teachable moments, not fixed flaws.
• Coach upward. Leadership isn’t a one-way street. Peer-to-peer or coaching-up models help identify blind spots in real time.
• Break the chain. If your leadership model is inherited dysfunction, it’s time to disrupt it. Give new leaders something better to emulate.

Because lazy leadership might be a myth.
But untrained, overwhelmed, or unsupported leadership?
That’s the real epidemic.

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🗣️ Final Word:

If you’ve ever been branded by a stereotype, you know how hard it is to shake.

Let’s stop slapping lazy labels on lost leaders and start building workplaces where everyone is given the roadmap to lead with clarity, courage, and care.

🔗 Want tools to help you coach through the actual gaps?
Find me on Fiverr, subscribe to the blog, or just reach out.
No judgment—just growth. 💬