📝 usncan Note: Why Your Leadership Pipeline Is Broken
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Developing leaders internally requires intention, alignment, and execution.
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We are in a leadership drought. Only 20% of CHROs have leaders ready to fill critical leadership roles within their company, according the 2025 HR Insights Report by consulting firm DDI. Despite investing in training programs, mentorships, and performance reviews, organizations still struggle to fill critical leadership roles. High-potential employees are burnt out, top talent leave, and succession plans are nonexistent. Here’s why organizations have broken leadership pipelines, and how to fix it.
Leadership Training And Development Programs Are Lacking
A lack of training and support has created a gap in developing new leaders. Only 48% of managers strongly agree that they currently have the skills needed to be exceptional at their job, according to a 2023 study by Gallup. Managing a team and leading others is complex, yet, companies often mistake strong individual performance for strong leadership. The transition from expert individual contributor to team leader requires learning a whole new set of skills. Corporations believing that ‘hard skills’ and ‘soft skills’ can be intertwined with enough tenure or drive will find leaders ill-equipped and their direct reports unsupported.
Companies Do Not Innately Support Leadership Qualities
Strong leaders are independent thinkers: creative, resourceful, and self-driven. However, many companies still treat their employees with distrust and inflexibility. In the post COVID-19 workplace era, numerous businesses have rolled back flexible work policies and scaled down DEI initiatives, leaving many employees feeling unsupported and undervalued. During the pandemic, workers experienced a new level of autonomy that for many, was taken away. Top talent actively seek environments where they can thrive and explore. Being bold, challenging status quo, and taking self-initiative are all valuable qualities of a leader. Organizations need to realize that rigid workplaces are stifling leadership development.
Increase Alignment Between Human Capital And Business Units
Organizations may have strong human capital and talent development programs established, but they are not followed by the business unit executives. The inverse can be true – each business units can have ad-hoc leader development but lack the formal application to track and establish success long-term. To close the gap, build a unified framework grounded in the skills future leaders need: adaptability, strategic thinking, and empathy. Leadership development is not just a talent initiative. Senior executives must take ownership by mentoring, sponsoring, and holding others accountable for cultivating leadership skills within their departments. When leadership growth is embedded within the business, it becomes a sustainable driver of performance and culture.
Foster A Coaching Culture
Leadership is built through experience, feedback, and training. Current leaders must prioritize developing future leaders and be held accountable for how their rising leaders progress. Developing the skills to be a strong leader is a daily endeavor – individuals should not wait until the receiving the manager title to develop them.
Coaching culture is created through peer-to-peer support, open and psychologically safe communication, and regular team retrospectives. These allow reflection, trust, and growth. To accelerate development – give rising leaders stretch assignments, ownership of strategic projects, or opportunities to rotate through different departments. The greatest growth happens outside of comfort zones, when emerging leaders are challenged, uncertain, and learning in real time.
All is not lost if the pipeline for new leadership seems empty within the company. The next generation of leaders is already within the organization. Support and champion their growth for a more resilient and successful business.
