Toxic work environments rarely start with bad intent.
They don’t appear overnight. They emerge gradually.
Across multiple companies, stages, and leadership teams, I’ve seen a recurring pattern. One of the least discussed drivers behind them is something uncomfortable to call out:
Incompetence.
Not as a judgment, but as a gap between responsibility and capability — one that compounds over time if left unaddressed.
Where does it come from?
In many cases, from otherwise reasonable decisions:
- Strong individual contributors stepping into leadership roles without the support or experience to lead
- People being promoted to the point where they are no longer effective (the Peter Principle)
- Leaders operating outside their domain of expertise
- Frequent “jumpers” — moving company to company without building real depth or seeing decisions through
None of these are inherently problematic. They become problematic when self-awareness doesn’t scale with responsibility.
And to be clear — this isn’t something I’ve only observed in others. I’ve had moments in my own career where I was out of my depth.
The difference is what happens next.