84. From Journalist to "Accidental Manager": Why New Leaders Fail (and How to Fix It) with Ben Perreau

In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, I sit down with Ben Perreau, a recovering music journalist turned entrepreneur and leadership expert. Ben joins me from Los Angeles to discuss a problem that plagues almost every growing company: the "Accidental Manager."

We explore Ben’s fascinating journey from the BBC newsroom to consulting for Fortune 50 C-suite executives, and why the transition from superstar Individual Contributor to Team Leader is the most dangerous leap in a career. We geek out on photography as a metaphor for leadership, discuss why we are all just "emotional meat sacks" trying to be professional, and dive into how his new company, Parafoil, is using AI-driven "listening circles" to help new managers survive their first year.

Key Findings & Takeaways:

• The "Man in the Arena": Ben shares how Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech defined his transition from observing the world as a journalist to shaping it as an entrepreneur.

• The Accidental Manager Crisis: A staggering 82% of early-career managers consider themselves "accidental"—thrust into leadership because they were good at their technical job, not because they were trained to lead.

• Leadership vs. Photography: We discuss the difference between staying in "Auto Mode" versus mastering "Manual Mode." Great leaders, like great photographers, need to know the technicals but ultimately succeed through composition and vision.

• The "Emotional Meat Sack" Reality: We try to breed emotion out of work, but we are emotional creatures. Ben argues that suppressing this leads to burnout and failure; effective leadership requires integrating your emotional self with your professional self.

• Listening Circles: Ben highlights his new platform, Parafoil, which uses "Listening Circles" to create safe, high-trust environments where managers can practice feedback and difficult conversations without fear of judgment.

Memorable Quotes:

• "I think Ben Perreau... is a complex mix of dualities in search of trying to find the one version of myself in amongst all of that." — Ben Perreau

• "Never doubt that a small committed group of people can change the world. In fact, it's all it ever has." — Ben Perreau (quoting Margaret Mead)

• "There's a reason why 82% of early career managers consider themselves accidental managers. And there's a reason why a third of their teams leave within a year." — Ben Perreau

• "We've almost constructed... our own landscape to help us find our own way out of the sort of emotional meat sacks that we all are... but actually it's the counter narratives." — Ben Perreau

The Bottom Line:

We often promote our best salespeople, engineers, or marketers into management and then abandon them. Ben’s work with Parafoil reminds us that leadership is a craft that must be practiced, not just a title that is bestowed. If you want to stop the churn of "accidental managers," you have to provide a safe space for them to fail, learn, and grow.

Call to Action:

• Stop the Churn: Are you an "accidental manager" or leading a team of them? Check out how Parafoil is changing the game.

• Connect with Ben: Visit Parafoil.co or find Ben Perreau on LinkedIn.

• Subscribe: Enjoyed this deep dive on leadership? Hit subscribe on Thoughts on Selling so you never miss a conversation.