It’s time we openly address something I’ve seen impact the lives and careers of many talented leaders—including my own.

Since 2017, I’ve specialized in developing leaders, particularly women, and I’ve noticed a recurring set of challenges we face. External challenges like unconscious bias, societal expectations, and double standards in leadership behavior are well-known. Yet, despite this awareness, we still see the same patterns holding women back.

Having navigated the corporate landscape for over 26 years, I’ve witnessed these challenges firsthand. Today, I want to discuss the leadership pipeline, why it’s leaky, especially for women, and the need to rethink how we develop our leaders.

The Leaky Leadership Pipeline

What is the “leaky leadership pipeline”? 

Longitudinal research studies by LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company show that while women and men start their leadership journeys at similar levels, the number of women drops drastically as we reach senior leadership roles—especially for women of color. This drop-off isn’t due to a lack of ambition or effort; it’s partly rooted in systemic barriers and individual internal struggles women often deal with.

As other women and I climbed the career ladder, we encountered unique internal challenges, such as self-doubt, lack of informal networks, imposter syndrome, and contouring to fit into a prescribed leadership style that often didn’t represent our authentic selves. These external and internal challenges contribute to the leaking pipeline where women’s numbers dwindle at the senior leadership ranks. 

Leading Authentically, Not Contouring

We’ve all experienced the unconscious biases and societal expectations that can skew the environment for female leaders. For example, assertiveness is often praised in men but judged harshly in women. I remember adjusting my leadership style to fit a predominantly male mold because I thought it was necessary for success–my bad. However, in my forties, I realized I had lost touch with my authentic self.

Once I began shedding that “armor” and embracing my true leadership style—one that values empathy, collaboration, and inclusion of perspectives—I found greater fulfillment in my work. My relationships with my team deepened, and we achieved our goals more effectively. Imagine the transformation if organizations normalized diverse leadership styles and allowed leaders to be authentic while delivering on the company vision and goals!

I encourage you to rate your workplace on a scale of 1 to 10. How well does it support leaders—especially women—in bringing their whole selves to work? How are diverse leadership styles accepted and encouraged? 

Acknowledging these realities is the first step toward transformation, identifying barriers, and sparking positive change. 

 Developing Our Leaders

The essence of my conversation today is emphasizing the value and importance of developing our leaders. Many leaders are promoted based on their high performance and their individual contributions. However, being good at your job doesn’t automatically make someone a good people leader. Leadership is a skill that requires intentional development.

One size does not fit all regarding leadership development. Drawing from an extensive 26-year corporate experience, I have found that traditional leadership programs often miss the mark by focusing solely on skill-based training and ignoring leaders’ mindsets. I advocate for comprehensive, holistic approaches that target skill gaps and individuals’ needs to ensure they can lead powerfully, create a positive, innovative environment, and maximize organizational impact.

To be truly effective, leaders must develop a growth mindset in addition to critical skills such as communicating with impact, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking. Ignoring the mindset component is a significant oversight. Progress and effectiveness are hampered if the company’s culture doesn’t support the senior leaders’ objectives. For example, if we want to create a more innovative workplace, the leaders must cultivate a culture willing to promote psychological safety, collaboration, continuous learning, and adaptability. Our senior leaders dictate the desired work culture–a growth mindset and the ability to overcome their unique limitations are essential to delivering this result. 

Thus, effective leadership growth must include components that tackle skill gaps and the individual’s mindset to ensure they can lead powerfully and create a positive, innovative environment.

Addressing Unique Challenges for Female Leaders

Similarly, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when developing women leaders. Many programs overlook the unique external and internal challenges women face, as mentioned earlier, such as unconscious bias, double standards, lack of informal networks, self-doubt, and contouring to fit in.

After noticing these patterns in the female leaders we coached, we designed and launched the Women’s Fearless Leadership Mastermind—a solution designed to cater to the needs of women in leadership roles looking to contribute from higher levels of the organization. Here, their ideas and strategies can be heard and implemented to benefit the organization, clients, investors, work culture, and talent. 

We focus on developing critical leadership skill gaps and areas like confidence-building, authentic leadership, navigating biases, and powerfully leading, engaging, and influencing others. We enable women to flourish within their organizations and ascend through the ranks, staying in a healthy leadership pipeline with qualified, talented, high-performing people leaders.

If your organization is committed to developing leaders and has a mature or evolving L&D department, that’s great! You don’t need to create your own niche to customize leadership training for women. Instead, let’s partner to leverage our predictable, reliable results framework for developing critical leadership skills. Since January 2020, we’ve achieved impressive results for our members. By integrating these targeted strategies, organizations can maximize their ROI and truly empower all their leaders.

Key Takeaways

1. Acknowledge the leaky leadership pipeline: Understand the biases and challenges women face in their leadership journey.

2. Develop your leaders: Invest in comprehensive leadership training, skill-building, and mindset development.

3. Specialize your approach: Tailor your support to tackle the unique challenges female leaders face, leveraging our reliable results solutions to empower female leaders and maximize your ROI in leadership development for high-potential, high-performing women.

Your organization will benefit significantly when we support your talented female leaders in staying in the leaky leadership pipeline. Leadership teams that reflect their marketplace and workforce foster diverse perspectives, creativity, innovation, improved decision-making, and strengthened customer relationships, ultimately leading to improved performance and competitiveness. 

It’s time to move the needle! The women and leaders we coach and our partner organizations feel the strain. The answer lies in our collective effort to maximize your talent’s potential. To explore effective solutions for your leadership development needs, contact us at info@executivebound.com or set up a strategy call today.

Live with purpose, live with joy! 

Coach Ginny