Leading on Empty. How to build more ‘leadership’.
We’re entering an era few organisations are prepared for: leadership is becoming scarce. Not because it matters less than it once did, but because the demands placed on leaders have grown so intense, so relentless, and so complex that fewer people are willing to step into the roles we need them to play. If we don’t rethink what leadership looks like — and how we develop it — we risk running out of the very capability we depend on most.
This scarcity isn’t theoretical; it’s already showing up in the way organisations operate. The pace of change continues to accelerate, reshaping work, expectations, and the pressures leaders must navigate. And while the world around us is shifting dramatically, our approach to leadership — and leadership development — has not kept pace.
Leadership Scarcity: An Economic Reality
In economics, scarcity occurs when demand outstrips supply. We typically apply the concept to natural resources, but it applies equally to human capability. Leadership — as both a mindset and a skillset — is becoming increasingly limited.
The demand for leadership is rising sharply. Leaders today must operate in a world defined by rapid technological disruption, geopolitical instability, cost-of-living pressures, sustainability expectations, hybrid work arrangements, and unrelenting public scrutiny. Organisations need people who can interpret ambiguity, guide teams through uncertainty, inspire action and purpose, and deliver today’s performance while shaping tomorrow’s possibilities.
Demand is not the problem. Supply is.
The Declining Leadership Pipeline
Across industries, fewer people are stepping forward for leadership roles. Those who do are often stepping away earlier — exhausted, disillusioned, or drawn to roles that offer greater autonomy and wellbeing. Executive turnover is increasing, and many organisations are struggling to maintain even basic succession pipelines.
At the same time, emerging generations — particularly Gen Z — are making different choices about their careers and lives. Many are opting out of leadership entirely, a trend often referred to as conscious unbossing. This is not a rejection of ambition; it is a rejection of what leadership has too often required.
Younger professionals have seen leaders sacrifice their health, in some cases their families, and their sense of balance. They’ve observed the pressure of constant visibility and the erosion of personal boundaries. Their conclusion is simple and rational: “That’s not the kind of life I want.”
Gen Z does not lack aspiration. They want to grow, but on different terms — through mastery, impact, and autonomy, not hierarchy or status. They are significantly more likely than other generations to step away from leadership roles, signalling a widening gap between what organisations need and what emerging talent is willing to take on.
This leaves us with an important question: Who will lead us in the next decade — and what must leadership become if we want people to choose it?
Rethinking Leadership: From Ladder to Road Trip
To answer this, we must rethink how leadership is framed.
For too long, leadership has been anchored to a linear career model — the familiar progression from expert to manager to leader. But this ladder no longer reflects how people want to work or grow. Careers today look more like road trips: filled with intentional pauses, sideways turns, skill deepening, reinvention, and rest.
Emerging leaders want to develop without losing themselves. They want influence through contribution rather than reporting lines. And they are unwilling to buy into a version of leadership that demands personal sacrifice as its entry fee.
This presents both a challenge and an opportunity. To close the leadership gap, we must reshape leadership so it is a role people aspire to, not avoid.
HR as Organisational Futurist
In this shift, HR plays a pivotal role. Over recent years, HR teams have oscillated between reactive and strategic modes depending on organisational pressures. The pandemic pushed many into intense reactivity, and some have remained there.
But the organisations taking meaningful steps toward solving the leadership scarcity challenge are those where HR steps into a more anticipatory role — actively scanning the horizon, identifying emerging risks, and shaping the leadership systems required for the future.
To prepare organisations for what’s coming, HR must reclaim its role as organisational futurist. That means anticipating capability needs, designing leadership experiences that reflect modern realities, and helping people step into leadership in ways that are sustainable and human.
If Leadership Is Changing, Leadership Development Must Change Too
Reimagining leadership requires a fundamental shift in how we develop leaders.
More organisations now recognise that leadership is not confined to hierarchy. Increasingly, leadership is exercised through influence — in conversations, decisions, relationships, and cross-functional work.
The skills that once defined leaders — coaching, influencing, navigating conflict, exercising judgement — are now essential across the organisation. Leadership development can no longer focus solely on building leaders. It must build leadership.
To do that, we must acknowledge a few enduring truths: leadership capabilities are learned, not innate; leadership habits develop over time; people’s learning needs vary; and foundational challenges such as trust, conflict, and difficult conversations remain central to leadership in every generation.
But while the fundamentals endure, the environment in which leaders learn has shifted dramatically.
Three Shifts Redefining Leadership Development
The first shift is toward human-centred development. Emerging leaders want to know whether leadership will fit the life they want to lead. They ask: Will I stay true to my values? Will this support my wellbeing? Leadership development must start with the leader as a whole person, not a resource to be deployed.
The second shift is from role readiness to personal growth. Traditional development prepared people for roles they might not want. Today, people want development that builds confidence, emotional maturity, clarity, and authenticity. When we grow the person, we grow leadership — across the entire organisation.
The third shift requires us to move from events to moments. Leadership does not happen in classrooms or offsites. It happens in the difficult conversation you didn’t expect, the decision no one else wants to make, and the moment your courage is tested. Development must therefore be continuous, contextual, and available in the flow of work. New technologies, especially AI, are making this possible in ways we could not have imagined a decade ago.
Together, these shifts fundamentally redefine leadership development for a world where leadership is both more necessary — and more personally demanding — than ever.
Insight as Agency
A final component is insight. Leaders need to understand how they show up — their strengths, risks, and patterns — to navigate moments effectively. Traditional assessments provide deep organisational insight, but we also need small, embedded tools that offer individuals real-time self-awareness in the moments that matter.
The goal is simple: Big assessments give organisations visibility. Small insights give individuals agency.
Combined with technology, the potential to support leaders in the flow of work is extraordinary.
Conclusion
Ultimately, this is not about abandoning what has worked in the past. It is about evolving our approach in response to a world that has changed fundamentally.
It is not just about developing more leaders. It is about developing more leadership.
And it is not about rejecting the past, but about reimagining the future — creating leadership that is sustainable, human, and aligned with the lives people want to lead.