How to Fix the Crisis in Your Leadership Pipeline
Kyle Brade-Waring- Apr 30
- 8 min read
Updated: May 2
Key Takeaways:
What:
A 'motivation gap' exists: The drive for traditional leadership roles ('Director' motivator - control/influence) is surprisingly low in the UK workforce.
Why:
This fuels the leadership pipeline crisis – fewer people are intrinsically energised by conventional leadership tasks needed for top roles.
Creates blocked succession (existing leaders can't progress or retire without replacements) and contributes to leader burnout/lost productivity.
Evidence:
Analysis of 110,000+ UK Motivational Maps shows 'Director' ranks 8th out of the 9 motivators (only 2.6% choose it as number 1).
Aligns with external data showing declining management aspiration and high stress associated with leadership.
Action:
Use tools like Motivational Maps to look beyond 'Director' and identify diverse leadership potential (e.g., driven by Purpose, Autonomy, Expertise).
Tailor leadership development – focus on core skills but crucially align opportunities with what actually motivates the individual.
Adapt environments and roles to better accommodate and leverage different motivational drivers and leadership styles.
Contents
The Unexpected Data: A Gap in Leadership Motivation
High stress, burnout, reluctance to take charge – why are these becoming such common themes in leadership discussions across the UK? Getting leadership right is critical, as your company's future growth hinges on it. But what if the way we're identifying and developing leaders is based on outdated assumptions about what truly drives them in today's world? Understanding the motivation behind the role, not just the required skills, might hold the key.
A Motivational Map is essentially a self-perception inventory, not a personality test, designed to uncover what makes someone tick at work. It identifies an individual's core drivers through nine distinct motivators. One of these is the 'Director' motivator, reflecting the desire to lead, control situations and resources, influence others, and make key decisions. You might expect this motivator to be prominent among those earmarked for leadership.
However, recent analysis of a massive dataset – over 110,000 Motivational Map profiles, primarily from the UK – reveals a surprising and potentially concerning trend specifically regarding this Director motivator. The data consistently shows that 'Director' ranks remarkably low. Out of the nine core motivators, it comes in eighth place when looking at which motivator people choose as their number one driver. Only a tiny fraction, just 2.6% of respondents, identified 'Director' as their primary source of motivation at work.
It's not just about rank, either. The average score for the Director motivator sits well below the average line, hovering around 16 out of a possible 40, significantly lower than high-scoring motivators like 'Searcher' (seeking meaning) which averages above 25.
Interestingly, the 'Star' motivator (seeking recognition and respect) scores even lower than Director. While both are low, perhaps suggesting a wider aversion to the 'limelight' aspects often associated with traditional leadership roles, the lack of drive for responsibility and control (Director) arguably has more direct implications for filling roles that require leading teams and making key decisions.
Crucially, this isn't just a quirk of one particular group. This low scoring for the Director motivator is a consistent pattern observed across different age ranges and genders within the dataset. It points towards a widespread phenomenon: fewer people seem intrinsically energised by the traditional 'command and control' elements typically associated with leadership roles.
This raises a critical question for anyone involved in developing leaders: are we facing not just a skills gap, but a fundamental motivation gap when it comes to traditional leadership?
Why This Matters: Connecting Motivation to the UK Leadership Crisis
So, the data suggests a potential gap in the intrinsic motivation for traditional leadership roles. But why is this finding so significant right now? Because it doesn't exist in a vacuum. This underlying motivational trend likely acts as a powerful, often unseen, contributor to the very real leadership pipeline crisis many UK businesses, especially SMEs, are currently facing.
A Shrinking Talent Pool
Consider the shrinking talent pool. An IRIS Software study highlights that only 38% of UK employees now aspire to management, a stark drop from 51% just a few years ago. Could this decline be partly explained by a misalignment between what traditional leadership roles demand (often perceived as high 'Director' energy) and what truly motivates a larger portion of the workforce today?
Negative Perceptions and Burnout
This motivational insight perhaps also sheds light on why leadership roles are increasingly viewed negatively. A significant 61% of people associate managerial positions with "stress" and "burnout". If individuals who aren't primarily driven by the 'Director' motivator are pushed into these roles, or if the roles themselves are rigidly designed around that archetype, it's understandable they might lead to stress rather than satisfaction.
Furthermore, the traditional image of a 'Director'-driven leader – constantly 'on', controlling all aspects – may clash sharply with evolving workforce expectations, particularly around work-life balance. With 73% of Gen Z, for example, prioritising flexibility over promotions, roles demanding constant oversight might seem increasingly unappealing if that 'Director' drive isn't naturally present.
The Real Costs for SMEs
The consequences of these converging trends – shifting motivations and expectations – are tangible and costly:
Sectoral Shortages: We see acute gaps in critical areas, like the NHS facing thousands of managerial vacancies and manufacturers reporting significant succession planning challenges.
The SME Struggle: While larger corporations might have more resources, a staggering 71% of SMEs lack formal leadership development programs, leaving them particularly vulnerable and potentially missing out on huge growth opportunities (£84 billion by 2030, according to estimates).
Untrained Leaders & Productivity: Compounding the issue, a shocking 82% of managers step into their roles without formal training, contributing to a massive £127 billion annual productivity gap for the UK. Promoting people without considering their motivational fit or providing adequate development is a recipe for struggle.
Essentially, the Motivational Maps data showing low 'Director' motivation provides a crucial lens. It suggests that the widely reported leadership crisis isn't just about external factors; it's also deeply rooted in an internal, motivational misalignment between traditional leadership expectations and the evolving drives of the modern workforce. Understanding this is the first step towards addressing it effectively.
Turning Insight into Action: A Motivational Approach for HR & Coaches
Understanding the potential 'Director' motivation gap and its link to the wider leadership crisis is insightful, but insight without action changes little. The good news is that for HR professionals and coaches already using or considering Motivational Maps, this understanding provides a direct pathway to building stronger, more resilient, and perhaps more diverse leadership pipelines. It’s about shifting the approach from simply filling slots to truly nurturing potential, aligned with individual motivation.
Here’s how:
Identify Leadership Potential Differently:
Instead of solely looking for high 'Director' scores as a signifier of leadership potential, use the full spectrum of the Map. Look for individuals whose motivational profiles suggest aptitude, even if 'Director' isn't dominant:
High 'Searcher'? They might be driven by purpose and making a difference – key for creating vision and leading mission-driven projects.
High 'Spirit'? While they value their own freedom and dislike being micromanaged, a leadership role could offer them the very autonomy they crave. This might translate into taking initiative and pioneering new approaches, provided the role offers genuine independence and decision-making power.
High 'Expert'? They seek mastery and knowledge, bringing credibility and potentially excelling at leading technical teams or complex projects requiring deep understanding.
High 'Friend'? Their focus on belonging and relationships is valuable for building cohesive, collaborative teams and fostering a positive culture.
Look for these strengths and combinations. Someone low on 'Director' but high on 'Searcher' and 'Spirit' might be the perfect person to lead a change initiative, motivated by the purpose and the freedom to implement it their way.
The challenge, however, if 'Director' is one of their lowert motivators, means that they are still likely to procrastinate around decision-making, detailed goal-setting, and holding themselves and others to account against agreed targets. It's not about forcing someone with low 'Director' motivator into the traditional 'command and control' mould that they are probably avoiding.
Develop Leaders Holistically (Aligned with Motivation):
It's not about forcing someone with low 'Director' motivator into the traditional 'command and control' mould that they are probably avoiding. Instead, focus on:
Developing Authentic Leadership Styles: Help them develop a leadership style that fits authentically to their motivators and values, i.e. how they believe leaders should behave. For example, the High-Challenge/High-Support framework taught by programmes like Liberating Leadership.
Building Core Leadership Skills: Concentrate on developing universal leadership competencies – like effective delegation, providing clear and constructive feedback, strategic thinking, and creating motivating goals for the team.
Framing Opportunities to Match Motivators: Critically, align development opportunities and leadership tasks with what actually motivates the individual. Could leading a specific project help them achieve a meaningful outcome ('Searcher')? Offer a chance to innovate ('Creator')? Allow them to share their expertise ('Expert')? Or build strong team connections ('Friend')? When the task taps into their core drivers, engagement and effectiveness soar.
Shape Enabling Environments:
Individual development thrives only in a supportive environment. Coaches and HR leaders can play a vital role in advising their organisations or clients to:
Rethink Leadership Structures: Encourage moving beyond rigid hierarchies. Explore distributed leadership models, empower project-based leaders, and create pathways where people can contribute their strengths without needing a traditional 'manager' title.
Foster Mentoring & Support: Implement mentoring programs. Even large FTSE 100 companies see huge value in pairing junior staff with senior mentors; SMEs can adapt this principle effectively to nurture talent internally.
Invest in Relevant Training: Inspired by innovations like Lloyds Bank using VR for management onboarding, consider how training can be tailored and made engaging for different motivational profiles, even on SME budgets.
Cultivate Psychological Safety: Create a culture where people feel safe to step up, take calculated risks, and potentially lead in less conventional ways, without fear of failure if their approach differs from the traditional 'Director' style.
By adopting this motivation-led approach – spotting potential more broadly, developing individuals according to their unique drivers, and shaping supportive environments – HR and coaches can proactively tackle the leadership pipeline challenge, building leadership capacity that is both effective and sustainable.
Conclusion: Fixing your Leadership Pipeline
The data is compelling, and the wider context is undeniable. The consistently low ranking of the 'Director' motivator across a vast dataset isn't just an interesting statistical quirk; it's a flashing light on the dashboard, signalling a deeper disconnect between traditional leadership expectations and the evolving motivations of today's workforce. As we've seen, this disconnect fuels the very real leadership pipeline crisis impacting UK businesses, contributing to succession struggles, burnout, and significant productivity gaps, particularly within SMEs.
Continuing down the same path – relying on outdated assumptions about leadership drive or promoting people without understanding their core motivators – risks perpetuating these challenges. However, armed with the insights provided by tools like Motivational Maps, there's a clear opportunity to forge a different path.
By looking beyond the traditional 'Director' archetype, identifying diverse motivational strengths, developing individuals in ways that resonate with their unique drivers, and shaping more flexible, supportive environments, we can build leadership pipelines that are not only more robust but also more reflective of the modern workforce. It’s about moving from simply filling leadership roles to genuinely nurturing leadership potential in all its forms.
For HR leaders and coaches, the questions then become:
How deeply are you integrating motivational insights into your talent strategies?
Are you equipped to look beyond conventional markers, understand what truly energises your people, and unlock the often-hidden leadership potential within your teams or clients?
The tools and insights are available. Whether that means empowering yourself or your team by becoming accredited to use Motivational Maps or developing essential capabilities through structured courses like our award-winning Liberating Leadership programme, embracing these approaches could be the key to navigating the leadership challenges of today and building stronger organisations for tomorrow.
