---
title: "Leadership Roles Often Unintentional for Many Managers"
url: https://newscentral.site/leadership-roles-often-unintentional-for-many-managers/
language: en
publisher: "News Central Site"
section: "Business"
published: 2026-10-25T13:25:35.000Z
updated: 2026-10-25T18:49:12.134Z
id: 851f31b4-3c5e-44f6-b9f7-067bf3bd0d1b
source: "Fortune https://fortune.com/article/facebook-cofounder-dustin-moskovitz-says-being-a-ceo-was-exhausting-never-intended-to-manage-people/"
attribution: "Link to https://newscentral.site/leadership-roles-often-unintentional-for-many-managers/ and name News Central Site when you quote or summarize this story."
---

# Leadership Roles Often Unintentional for Many Managers

Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook, never intended to be a manager and became the company's first Chief Technology Officer by default.

Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook, never intended to be a manager, unlike some people who are naturally suited for leadership roles. In fact, research suggests that a significant proportion of managers fall into the job unintentionally, with estimates suggesting 82% of them do so. Moskovitz's experience is a case in point. He co-founded Facebook with his Harvard roommate Mark Zuckerberg and later became the company's first Chief Technology Officer.

Moskovitz's path to leadership was not deliberate; he ended up taking on more responsibilities as the company grew. He eventually left Facebook in 2008 to start Asana, a project management platform, where he again took on the role of CEO. Under his leadership, Asana went public in September 2020 and became a $3 billion company before Moskovitz stepped down last year.

Despite achieving significant success as a leader, Moskovitz admitted that being a manager was not for him. In an interview with Stratechery in 2025, he confessed to finding the role "quite exhausting. As someone who described himself as an introvert, Moskovitz struggled with managing teams and dealing with the pressures of leadership.

According to Moskovitz, one of the biggest challenges he faced was putting on a facade every day. He had hoped that as his company scaled, he would be able to delegate more tasks and focus on strategy from behind the scenes. However, this proved not to be the case.

As Facebook's cofounder navigated the company through turbulent times, he found himself increasingly focused on reacting to problems rather than building the business. The world around him was becoming increasingly chaotic, with the first Trump presidency and the pandemic dominating headlines, as well as ongoing issues related to race.

Research suggests that Moskovitz is not alone in feeling this way. In fact, a significant majority of managers, 82% to be exact, are accidental leaders who ended up in their roles without any formal training or preparation. They were often promoted because of their technical expertise or other skills, rather than any desire to manage people.

This phenomenon is not limited to Moskovitz's generation. Even younger professionals, such as Gen Z, have expressed a preference for remaining individual contributors rather than taking on leadership roles. This reluctance to lead may be due in part to the high stress and demands of being a CEO, which can be quite exhausting," as Moskovitz himself has described it.

According to Gerrit Bouckaert, CEO of Robert Walters, a recruitment firm operating in 31 countries, many managers find themselves in leadership roles by default rather than design. This phenomenon has become more pronounced in recent years, with the demands of management continuing to escalate.

As a result, businesses often end up with leaders who are uncertain about their ability to manage and may struggle to handle the challenges that come with overseeing both employees and other managers.

---
Source: [Fortune](https://fortune.com/article/facebook-cofounder-dustin-moskovitz-says-being-a-ceo-was-exhausting-never-intended-to-manage-people/)  
Published by News Central Site: https://newscentral.site/leadership-roles-often-unintentional-for-many-managers/