Derailment is a common phenomenon in organizations; however, managers' derailment can be prevented if the phenomenon is well understood. Derailed managers often have impressive track records and are solidly established within their organizations, but something goes wrong along the way. In this article, we review the dynamics and causes of derailment. We then report survey results from over 2,500 respondents across five countries with differences noted by level, industry, and country. Finally, we describe actions to prevent derailment. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.