Why So Many Leaders Still Suck: Two Authors on Ending Bad Management for Good

Let’s face it: most leadership advice still misses the mark.

Managers are overwhelmed. Teams are burning out. Bad leadership is still more common than good, and most of it hides behind polished mission statements, endless meetings, and vague talk about “culture".

In this provocative session, two authors take the gloves off to challenge everything you think you know about management":

• Hugo Pereira — author of Teams in Hell: How to End Bad Management and former Chief Growth Officer at EVBox, shares the four traits that make or break any team—and why most managers never build them.
• Juho Salmi — author of Big Boss' Playbook and researcher with Aalto University, brings real-life stories of terrible leadership and the data behind how it happens again and again… even in companies that should know better.

Together, they’ll unpack:

• Why bad leadership isn’t always toxic, it’s often just unintentional, misaligned, or outdated.
• The difference between managing tasks and actually leading people.
• How clarity, trust, adaptability, and deep work shape high-performing teams.
• The myths we must unlearn about feedback, control, decision-making, and performance.
• How AI, hybrid work, and psychological safety are rewriting the rules of leadership.

This isn’t a “how to be a boss” pep talk.

It’s a raw, practical, story-rich conversation between two leadership practitioners who’ve seen what works, and what sends teams straight to Hell.

If you’ve ever worked under a bad boss… or wondered whether you might be becoming one, this is for you.