And yet, leadership pipelines continue to break down—quietly, persistently, and often expensively.
Public and private sector organisations, as well as NGOs, invest millions each year in identifying and developing future leaders. But if you’re honest, how many of those programmes actually translate into long-term, effective leadership across your organisation? How many of your “high potentials” still struggle with confidence, decision-making or influence three years on?
If you’re noticing a disconnect between leadership development efforts and real-world impact, you’re not alone.
The Problem Isn’t a Lack of Programmes. It’s a Lack of Connection.
Leadership pipelines fail not because they lack structure, but because they often lack depth. Here’s where they tend to go wrong:
Too much content, not enough context: Workshops and courses often prioritise competencies over lived experience.
Assessment over reflection: High potentials are evaluated constantly but rarely given safe spaces to explore who they are as leaders.
One-size-fits-all development: Leadership paths are treated like ladders, not as unique journeys shaped by different challenges and strengths.
Low trust, high pressure: Emerging leaders feel watched more than supported—especially in hierarchical or political environments.
Performance over behaviours: too often, technical excellence or individual achievement is mistaken for leadership readiness. But being a top performer doesn’t mean someone can lead others effectively. Pipelines fail when they promote “stars” without testing for empathy, resilience, or the ability to bring people with them.
Leadership being treated as a course, not a culture
The result? Talent gets stuck. People opt out. Or worse—they step up into leadership roles without the confidence, clarity or self-awareness to succeed sustainably.
Leadership Isn’t Taught. It’s Grown.
This is where mentoring fills the gap.
Unlike formal training, mentoring is relational. It makes room for messiness, uncertainty and growth that doesn’t follow a textbook. It’s especially powerful in large, complex systems—like the public sector or NGOs—where leadership often involves navigating ambiguity, influence without authority, and value-based tensions.
A mentoring approach supports leaders to:
Build self-awareness, not just skills
Explore leadership identity, not just competencies
Think systemically, not just individually
Ask better questions, instead of feeling pressure to have all the answers
In the words of one public-sector client, “What changed wasn’t just how I led my team. It was how I thought about myself as a leader.”
What the Research Says
This isn’t just anecdotal. Research supports the case for integrating mentoring into leadership development strategies:
A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior found that mentored individuals reported higher job satisfaction, better performance, and stronger career outcomes than those who weren’t mentored (source).
A Harvard Business Review article highlighted how mentoring relationships significantly improve retention, especially among underrepresented leaders.
In complex environments, mentoring supports what McKinsey calls “distributed leadership”—the ability for leadership to emerge at all levels in response to fast-changing needs (source).
Reflect: Are You Developing Leaders or Just Ticking Boxes?
If you work in HR, L&D, or run leadership initiatives in public, private, or NGO sectors, ask yourself:
Do your leadership programmes leave room for personal transformation, or are they mostly about skill transfer?
Are your high potentials learning to think and lead differently, or just learning how to pass assessments?
Who is supporting them when the learning environment disappears?
If you’re not including mentoring as a core part of your pipeline, you may be setting up your future leaders to fail—quietly, invisibly, and years down the line.
So, What Does Good Mentoring in Leadership Development Look Like?
Here’s what we’ve seen work across sectors:
Intentional matching and contracting – Clear roles, expectations, and boundaries that create safety and structure.
Skilled mentors – Not just senior people with experience, but those trained to listen, challenge, and reflect back.
Systemic design – Mentoring embedded into broader development pathways, not bolted on as an optional extra.
Cultural fit – Designed to work in your context—whether that’s within a ministry, a multinational, or a humanitarian organisation.
