Succession Gaps and the "Broken Rung": Building Tomorrow's Leaders Today
Your next crisis might not be what you think. It could be who's not ready to lead.
Picture this: Your star VP just announced she's leaving. Your head of sales accepted an offer at a competitor. Your operations director is retiring in six months.
As you scan your team for their replacements, you realize something terrifying: Nobody's ready to step up.
Welcome to the "broken rung" - the invisible leadership gap that's quietly sabotaging companies across Europe.
What Exactly Is the "Broken Rung"?
Think of your company like a ladder. People enter at the bottom, climb steadily upward, and eventually reach leadership positions. Simple, right?
Not quite.
Research from McKinsey & Company reveals a startling pattern: while women make up about 48% of entry-level hires, only 38% reach manager level. The numbers get worse from there - just 28% of senior managers and 23% of C-suite executives are women.
This isn't just a diversity issue. It's a leadership pipeline crisis. Half your potential leaders are disappearing before they ever get the chance to lead.
Why Are You Losing Your Female Talent?
The broken rung doesn't break by accident. Three specific barriers consistently trip up women on their way to leadership:
The "Prove It Again" Penalty: Women face what researchers call the "prove it again" bias. While men are promoted based on potential, women must demonstrate every competency before being considered. Harvard Business Review research shows women apply for roles only when they meet 100% of qualifications, while men apply when they meet just 60%.
The Old Boys' Club Lives On: Those career-defining conversations still happen in male-dominated spaces. Golf outings, after-work drinks, informal "coffee catch-ups" - these seemingly casual moments are where relationships build and opportunities emerge. According to Catalyst research, 67% of senior executives are men, and they tend to mentor and sponsor people who remind them of themselves.
The Confidence Myth: Here's where it gets interesting. KPMG's Women's Leadership Study found that 67% of women say they need encouragement from others to take on leadership roles, compared to 49% of men. But this isn't about women lacking confidence - it's about workplaces that don't actively encourage women to step forward.
The Real Cost of Broken Rungs
Let's talk numbers. Replacing a senior leader costs between €150,000-300,000 when you factor in recruitment fees, onboarding time, and lost productivity, according to Deloitte research.
But that's just the obvious cost. Here's what most companies miss:
Lost knowledge: When experienced people leave, they take relationships, processes, and insights with them
Team disruption: Remaining team members pick up extra work, leading to burnout and more departures
Missed opportunities: Projects slow down or stop entirely while you search for replacements
Competitor advantage: Your former employees often join competitors, taking their expertise with them
The European Context: Why This Matters More Than Ever
Europe's talent shortage is real and getting worse. According to ManpowerGroup's Talent Shortage Survey, 77% of European employers report difficulty filling roles - the highest level in 17 years.
Translation: You can't just hire your way out of leadership gaps anymore. The leaders you need tomorrow must be developed internally today.
Companies that get this right have a massive advantage. Boston Consulting Group research shows that organizations with diverse leadership teams report 19% higher revenues from innovation.
How to Fix Your Broken Rung (And Keep Your Female Talent)
The good news? This is totally solvable. Here's how companies are engineering stronger leadership pipelines while specifically addressing the barriers women face:
Promote on Potential, Not Just Performance: Stop requiring women to check every single box before considering them for leadership roles. Create clear criteria for promotions and apply them equally. When women see a path forward that doesn't require perfection, they're more likely to pursue it.
Make Networking Intentional: Those informal networks where careers are made? Make them formal. Create structured mentorship programs, women's leadership circles, and cross-functional project teams. According to Center for Creative Leadership research, women with sponsors are 22% more likely to ask for stretch assignments.
Build Confidence Through Structured Support: Don't assume women will self-advocate. Actively encourage them to pursue leadership opportunities. Create "safe-to-fail" environments where they can build confidence through action. Catalyst research shows confidence comes from taking action, not the other way around.
Address the Double Standards: Train managers to recognize unconscious bias. When women are assertive, they shouldn't be labeled "aggressive." When they collaborate, they shouldn't be seen as "not leadership material." Create objective evaluation criteria that focus on results, not style.
Measure What Matters: Track promotion rates by gender, retention during development programs, and how quickly women move into leadership roles. If you're not measuring it, you can't improve it.
The Sweet Spot for Mid-Sized Companies
If you're running a company with 50-200 employees, you're in the perfect position to fix this. You're big enough to invest in systematic development but small enough to be agile about it.
Large corporations struggle with bureaucracy and politics. Startups don't have the resources or stability. But mid-sized companies? You can identify talent quickly, provide meaningful development experiences, and see results fast.
Your Choice: Build or Buy Leaders
Every company faces the same decision: develop internal leaders or recruit externally.
External recruitment is expensive, risky, and slow. Internal development is strategic, cost-effective, and builds loyalty.
The Corporate Leadership Council found that organizations with strong internal leadership pipelines are 2.3 times more likely to outperform competitors.
The Bottom Line
The broken rung isn't inevitable - it's fixable.
Your future leaders are already in your organization. The question is whether you're developing them or watching them leave for companies that will.
Start fixing your broken rung today, because tomorrow's crisis is being shaped by today's inaction.
The ladder doesn't fix itself. But with intention, investment, and the right approach, you can build a leadership pipeline that becomes your competitive advantage.
Ready to strengthen your leadership pipeline? The companies that act now will have the leaders they need when opportunity - or crisis - comes calling.
