In the beginning, she was the rock in the storm: clear direction, fast decisions, an open ear for every worry on the team. Two years and countless crisis meetings later, the same leader seems different. Decisions suddenly need three more approvals than before, feedback becomes rarer and terser, small things get taken personally. No one on the team says it out loud, but everyone notices. What's happening here has a name and a familiar pattern. The very traits that made a leader successful often flip into their opposite under sustained pressure.
Key Takeaways
Hogan Assessments refers to these potential behavioral risks as “derailers”¹
More than half of people in Austria (very) often experience their manager as visibly stressed.²
For nearly a third of those affected, this noticeably reduces their enjoyment of work.²
One in four has actually quit a job at least once because of their manager's behavior.²
Low employee engagement costs an estimated $10 trillion in lost productivity worldwide, about 9 percent of global GDP.³
At sporting goods retailer Bründl Sports, sick days dropped noticeably once managers themselves visibly used a confidential counseling service.⁴
The Moment When Strength Becomes a Weakness
Hogan Assessments refers to these potential behavioral risks as “derailers”¹ Qualities that are effective in everyday situations may become less helpful when overused or displayed under stress, boredom, or sustained pressure.¹ Confidence may then be perceived as overconfidence, decisiveness as overly directive approach, and conscientiousness as perfectionism that makes letting go difficult. Hogan Assessments groups these tendencies into three broad patterns: moving away from others, moving against others, or moving toward others by seeking approval and avoiding independent decisions.¹ These behaviors may be difficult for leaders to recognize in themselves, while their impact can be more apparent to colleagues and team members.
What This Does to Your Team
The Mavie Stress Study 2026 shows how widespread this pattern already is in Austria. More than half of employees (very) often experience their manager as visibly stressed.² That's not without consequences. For nearly a third of those affected, this noticeably reduces their enjoyment of work. One in five thinks more often about changing jobs as a result.² One in four has actually quit a job at least once because of their manager's behavior.² Think of it like a drop in mood that quietly spreads from the top down through the organization. The manager barely notices how tense they've become. The team notices immediately, but rarely says anything. The reason is the same one that keeps leaders from talking about their own stress in the first place.
Why It Costs More Than It Looks Like at First
This pattern has a name: quiet quitting. People who are still present but have long since stopped truly engaging. Gallup puts the global cost of low employee engagement at around $10 trillion in lost productivity, about 9 percent of global GDP.³ Europe carries an inglorious share of that. Only 12 percent of employees here feel truly connected to their work, the lowest figure of any region in the world. That has now been true for six years running.³ What's revealing is where Gallup sees the lever for change. Engagement among managers themselves has fallen by nine percentage points since 2022, while it has stayed stable among employees without leadership responsibility.³ In other words: when engagement erodes in an organization, it tends to start at the top, not in the ranks below.
How to Spot It Early Instead of Regretting It Later
What's unsettling about so-called derailers - the way strengths turn into risks under pressure - isn't that they exist, but how late they're usually noticed. In a job interview, charm, confidence, and decisiveness tend to win people over. Whether those same traits hold up under real pressure or tip over often only becomes clear months after a promotion or a hire. By then, the consequences have often already spread through the whole team. That's exactly what can be made visible earlier. A scientifically grounded personality assessment can identify potential behavioral risks that may emerge under pressure, such as withdrawal, a need for control, or impulsiveness. Recognizing these tendencies early can help leaders manage them proactively - before they begin to affect team dynamics or organizational effectiveness.
Both Levels Belong Together
Leaders who recognize their own stress patterns early can regulate them and work on them before they carry over to the team. Employees who find support in a confidential setting can discuss their strain with experts and find real relief. This interplay is exactly what shows up wherever companies already take consistent action on both fronts. At premium sporting goods retailer Bründl Sports, sick days per employee dropped noticeably. The reason: managers didn't just make a confidential counseling service available, they visibly used it themselves.⁴ We described exactly how that worked, and how it saved around EUR 1.2 million, in a separate article on the silent cost of workplace stress. Leadership isn't just a source of strain. It can just as easily become a role model that makes the first step easier for others.
The Takeaway for You as a Leader
Awareness alone does not change behavior, but it creates a foundation for development. Under pressure, it can be difficult to recognize when strengths are being overused and may become less effective or create challenges for others. A leader’s behavior can influence a team’s ability to perform sustainably, often before this impact is reflected in performance indicators. Understanding one’s potential behavioral risks under pressure is therefore not a weakness, but an important step towards leadership that supports the team and enables its success.
