2023 Global Leadership Forecast Report | DDI

Identifying, developing, and retaining future leaders is a perennial priority for many organizations. To help gauge how firms are progressing toward this goal, this 25-page report is part of the longest-running global study of leadership to understand current and future leadership practices. Topics range from how well firms develop their leadership benches, skills that leaders need for the future, and the retention of high-potential leaders. Regarding retention, page 23 mentions how three years seems to be the critical tipping point for high-potential leaders to start showing an interest in moving on: for high-potential employees within the first three years of their tenure, only 12% said they intend to leave their companies within the year. By contrast, high-potential employees who have been with the company for three years or longer are 25% more likely to be at risk of departure. Of those high-potentials who plan to depart within one year, lack of career growth opportunities and leaders lacking effective interpersonal skills are among the top reasons for their intention to leave. These data points reinforce the importance of continuously assessing the retention risk of high-potential employees and successors and developing retention strategies to mitigate risk. Page 8 touches on the importance of spotting leadership potential earlier and more broadly (cast a wider net). For research-based ideas on improving an organization’s ability to identify those with a leadership pipeline more accurately, you can check out Allan Church’s article, A Manager’s Mini Guide to Identifying and Assessing Leadership Potential.