The Leadership Ambition Gap: Why Fewer People Want to Lead and What We Can Do About It

Across industries, a quiet but serious shift is underway. Fewer people want to step into leadership, and more are questioning whether the top jobs are worth the cost. At the same time, seasoned leaders are retiring, stepping back early, or burning out under constant pressure. The result? A growing gap between the leaders’ organisations need and the number of people willing or ready to take up those roles.

This isn’t media hype — the data is clear. In 2024, global CEO turnover hit record highs, with 2,221 chief executives leaving their roles, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. In January 2025 alone, 2221 CEOs stepped down, the highest monthly total in more than two decades. Meanwhile, Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 report found that two-thirds of managers say they’d turn down a promotion into higher leadership today.

The pipeline is thinning, and it’s not just a generational blip — it’s a structural challenge.

What’s Driving the Decline in Leadership Ambition

1. The cost of leadership feels too high

Senior roles have become more complex, visible and emotionally demanding. Many leaders describe their roles as unsustainable. Burnout is rising, with over half of CEOs reporting mental health struggles, according to Deloitte and mid-level professionals are watching closely. The equation doesn’t look appealing: longer hours, higher stress, and less psychological safety. For many, the trade-off no longer makes sense.

2. Values have shifted

Younger generations are ambitious, but differently. Deloitte’s 2024 Millennial and Gen Z Survey found that fewer than 10% see reaching senior leadership as their ultimate career goal. They’re motivated by impact, flexibility, and purpose, not power or hierarchy. They want to lead ideas, not necessarily people. The traditional climb to the top looks outdated, and the corporate ladder increasingly feels optional.

3. The middle is under pressure

Middle managers are the bridge between strategy and execution, and they are feeling squeezed. They’re adapting to AI, and juggling constant change. Gallup’s data shows managers are the least engaged group in the workforce, with high stress and low wellbeing. It’s hard to inspire others to lead when the middle layers are visibly exhausted.

4. Support for new leaders is lacking

Many organisations still promote people into leadership without equipping them to succeed. Training and coaching come too late or not at all. Research from ADP shows that almost 30% of employees promoted into management leave their employer within a month, often because they feel overwhelmed or isolated. If leadership feels like “sink or swim,” fewer people will volunteer to dive in.

Why This Matters

Leadership ambition isn’t a vanity metric; it’s a resilience indicator for organisations. A shallow leadership pipeline can stall transformation, weaken culture, and limit innovation.

If top leaders depart and no one is ready to step up, organisations face expensive hiring cycles and loss of continuity. Harvard Business Review estimates that poorly managed CEO successions can wipe out billions in shareholder value annually. And when middle managers disengage, teams feel it, performance, trust and morale all dip.

The warning signs are clear: if we don’t make leadership aspirational again, the long-term cost will be strategic stagnation.

Rebuilding the Desire to Lead

It’s time to make leadership both sustainable and desirable again. The solution isn’t to push harder, it’s to lead smarter.

1. Start developing leaders earlier

Don’t wait until people are already managers to invest in them. Identify potential two or three levels down and offer real stretch opportunities. Pair experience with mentorship and coaching. The earlier someone experiences leadership in a supported way, the more likely they are to want it.

2. Redesign leadership for modern life

Leadership shouldn’t mean burnout. Rethink the job design, smaller spans of control, administrative support, or co-leadership models can make it viable. Create cultures where wellbeing and performance coexist, and where leaders can set healthy boundaries without guilt.

3. Make leadership meaningful

When people understand why their leadership matters, to their teams, their organisation, or the wider world, ignite their ambition. Purpose is the antidote to apathy. Align leadership roles with impact, not just output, and you’ll attract those who want to make a difference.

4. Create flexible pathways

Not everyone wants to manage large teams, but many want to influence. Offer leadership routes through expertise, innovation, or projects. Show that leading isn’t a rigid title; it’s a behaviour that can evolve with a career.

A Call to Action for Organisations

The leadership ambition gap won’t close on its own. Organisations that act now, by supporting leaders, reimagining development, and modernising what leadership looks like, will be the ones that thrive.

At The Leadership Coaches, we regularly hold sounding board calls with HR, L&D, and Talent leaders who want to explore these questions honestly:

• What does sustainable leadership look like in our organisation?

• How can we nurture ambition without burnout?

• Where are the hidden successors we should be developing?

If you’d like to explore these conversations, we’re here to help you think it through.

Book a call with Zoé Lewis