Bridging the leadership cliff: how to build a leadership pipeline that lasts

Across Australia, a quiet crisis is brewing in boardrooms, not-for-profits, churches, political parties and social enterprises: a leadership cliff. In some sectors, up to 50% of current leaders are expected to retire within the next 10 years. Yet many organisations have no clear plan for how to raise up the next generation of capable, confident leaders.

This is not just a talent issue. It’s a strategic risk.

What’s gone wrong?

Put simply: leadership development is the job of the leader. If you don’t have multiple people you’re training behind you, you’re not truly leading — you’re just occupying a seat. In my work, I’ve had to help leaders shift from being leaders to becoming leaders of leaders. That’s a different mindset entirely. It’s not about replicating yourself — it’s about building a system that identifies, forms, and empowers others to lead in their own right.

So how do we address the leadership cliff?

Stop waiting. Start building a pipeline.

The organisations that will thrive in the next decade are already doing one thing differently: they are treating leadership development as a strategic function, not an afterthought.

That means building a leadership development pipeline — not a loose mentoring plan or a vague idea of succession. A real pipeline has structure. It tracks where potential leaders are entering, how they’re being formed, and where they’re headed.

In recent work, I’ve helped senior leaders get clear on this. The key is to build a system that answers five questions:

1. What does your leadership pipeline look like?

   • Sketch the full journey: from early exposure to leadership, to managing teams, to leading leaders.

   • Include stages like “emerging leader,” “team leader,” “executive leader,” or whatever makes sense in your context.

2. Where are people entering the funnel?

   • Are you only looking for “ready now” leaders?

   • Who’s coming in at the beginning? Who’s stalled in the middle?

   • Are you recruiting and inviting people into every stage?

3. Do you offer both educational and practical formation?

   • The best pipelines balance input (learning content, coaching, mentoring) with exposure and experience (real leadership opportunities).

   • Are you bringing potential leaders into meetings? Letting them sit in on decision-making conversations? Giving them something to own?

4. Are you guiding people according to their unique gifts?

   • Great leadership pipelines don’t clone existing leaders. They discern and develop potential, helping people grow into the kind of leader they’re called to be — not a carbon copy of someone else.

5. Are you opening doors before they’re “needed”?

   • Too often, we say “we don’t have space for them yet.” But waiting for a vacancy before forming leaders is a recipe for disaster.

   • Invite people now. Open access now. Even if they’re just interns at the board table or participants in a taskforce. Exposure creates aspiration.

A Moment of Clarity

Recently I sat in a room full of leaders in a growing organisation with multiple sites. These leaders were exceptional at leading large groups of volunteers at short notice to deliver excellence. However, if this organisation was going to grow into its next phase of impact, the current leaders were going to have to stop leading everything — and start leading leaders. Step out of the detail and start delegating to leaders who would thrive under increased responsibility and ownership.

It sounds obvious, but it’s not natural.

Leaders often rise because they’re good at doing. But building a pipeline requires something else: the courage to let go of control, the clarity to define the process, and the generosity to pass on what you’ve learned.

Where to Begin

If you’ve identified this problem in your organisation — but haven’t acted on it yet — here’s where you can start today:

1. Develop a clear model.
   Map out the stages of leadership in your context. Use simple language, and be honest about what’s currently missing.

2. Identify people at each stage.
   Don’t wait for a polished product. Who’s emerging? Who’s plateaued? Who could step up with the right support?

3. Create regular touchpoints.
   Set regular leadership gatherings. Pair people with mentors. Create a training rhythm — whatever is right for your context. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just consistent.

Break Through Scarcity Mindsets

One of the biggest barriers I see is the belief that this isn’t possible. We tell ourselves:

• “We don’t have enough funding for that.”

• “That person doesn’t exist yet.”

• “We’re too small for a pipeline like that.”

But what if...

• ...you partnered with another organisation to co-run a leadership development cohort?

• ...you looked internationally and found a model you could adapt?

• ...you simply asked a young leader if they wanted to grow, and they said yes?

• ...there was a funder out there whose exact dream was to invest in future leadership?

Leadership development doesn’t start with scale. It starts with a mindset shift — from scarcity to abundance, from control to empowerment.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

The leadership cliff isn’t coming. It’s already here.

The question is not if you’ll be affected — it’s whether you’ll be ready. The good news? You don’t need to fix everything overnight. But you do need to start.

Because the legacy of your leadership won’t be what you built — it will be who you built.