Where will the next bright minds in your organization come from? Or to put it a better way—you already have bright minds in your organization, but how will you help them achieve their full potential?

Survey after survey seems to suggest that leaders won’t, or won’t very often. The latest one comes from the training firm TalentLMS, which surveyed 600 U.S. managers last fall, and found that “45 percent…say their company isn’t doing enough to develop future leaders.”

When I explored this in the context of association CEO succession last summer, a major roadblock to talent development was an unwillingness to face the prospect of change head-on, combined with the need to address more immediate challenges. With all sorts of economic and political disruptions challenging associations at the moment, succession planning can be easy to neglect. But as one observer put it in a 2024 Heidrick & Struggles study, succession planning is a form of risk management, and now is the time to double down on that.

43 percent of managers found their organization’s leadership training programs lacking.

To that end, the TalentLMS survey is revealing about what tends to stand in the way of leadership growth. The main barriers cluster in two areas: Failures to develop leadership programs, and failures to be transparent about what the organization needs. According to the survey, 43 percent of managers found their organization’s training programs lacking. And that trickles down. As the report puts it: “Without consistent and effective training, leaders stop growing…. Without a solid foundation of leadership training, companies risk creating a leadership void that’s hard to fill. And even harder to recover from.”

That erosion is exacerbated when organizations look elsewhere for leadership, which the report says happens very often: 43 percent say their organizations look externally more often than internally. As a result, the report says, “they fail to cultivate leadership that’s already aligned with the organization’s goals and culture, ultimately leading to leadership deficiency. Promoting from within doesn’t just strengthen loyalty—it’s a strategic investment in long-term success and future preparedness.”

And because talent is a strategic investment, an effective response requires a strategy: A plan to identify skills gaps, future needs, and resources required to bolster internal talent.  The questions proposed in the Heidrick & Struggles report address CEO succession, but they can be adapted more broadly to address entire staffs: Is succession discussed regularly, collaboratively, and frankly? Do you review the skills your staff will need to implement its strategic plan? Is it investing in professional development?

Answering those questions may help address another trouble spot the TalentLMS survey found: the lack of trust in leaders in the current moment. As the report puts it, “only 12 percent of managers think the leaders in their company are well-rounded and effective. Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority is pointing to areas needing improvement.” Not leading on this is not an option.

Employee engagement is diminishing at the same time as member engagement has become more of a challenge. An effective response will make those challenges a priority, addressing long-term survival along with immediate headwinds.

[Usenko/iStock]