I am thinking of a word that I have forgotten. It can be used in sentences like; "I believe the [word] here is the incompetence in leadership…"
Basically, it is the cause (or a proposed cause) of something negative. I believe the word has some level of animacy, and for some reason I'm having associations with the word perpetrator and offender. I feel like it's at the tip of my tongue yet so far away.
Best Answer
I just realized what I was looking for.
The culprit.
I believe the culprit here is the incompetence in leadership.
This explains my associations with perpetrator and offender.