Leadership retention plan; the secrets to them staying and being high-performing
This was first published on LinkedIn on the 5th August 2026 and on The Expert Services Directory Blog on 11th August 2026.
The current level of leadership engagement is bad news for these leaders, their teams and your organisation.
A recent Gallup report identified that leadership engagement had reduced dramatically, globally it is down to 22% and the figure in the UK is even scarier with only 16% engaged at work.
The levels of engagement felt and experienced by leaders in your organisation is directly impacted by the answers to the questions they are considering on holiday. Questions like:
“Do they really value me?”
“Why didn’t I get considered for promotion?”
“I’m not sure my future is in this organisation”
“Why do I never get any support from my leader?”
“I’m performing really well, and working hard to deliver but I don’t seem to get what I need to progress or really enjoy what I’m doing”.
“Is it time to leave?”
September sees the highest number of people starting the process to leave; accepting the calls from the headhunters and beginning to take interviews.
If your organisation has high-performing leaders that it wants to keep hold of but they risk dropping into the engagement dip, get in touch so we can bring them back in September ready to stay, rather than ready to leave.
If they choose to leave, the impact of losing a leader is more than them moving on, it causes disruption and has commercial consequences.
The turnover costs extend well beyond the costs of recruitment and here’s just some of them:
Interim leadership cover
Onboarding and development
Lost expertise, organisational knowledge and relationships
Delays in strategic decision or operational momentum
Increased disruption and uncertainty
Client and end-user disruption or disengagement
With the UK annual turnover rate averaging 1 in 3, what could your organisation save by retaining just one leader?
For leaders, it is estimated to cost between 100-200% of their annual salary. This means replacing a leader on £110,000 will cost between £110-220,000 before the replacement is fully productive again.
And, when one leaves, it starts a chain of events too:
Talented team members leave either to follow that leader or because they feel the same way.
Peers of the leader who has left start to hear their uplifting stories of an exciting new beginning and they also choose to leave.
Those who remain, the performance, engagement and enthusiasm dips.
For an organisation with 25 leaders, losing 3 leaders on an average salary of £110,000, that's a cost of between £330,000 to £660,000.
If your organisation risks losing talented and high-potential leaders this September, get in touch by emailing us at info@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk and I’ll arrange for us to have a call to explore a bespoke approach for your organisation so your leaders return feeling committed and connected to your organisation.
The secret to increasing leadership engagement in your organisation and retaining your high-performing leaders, is to remember they are employees too.
They are a segment of your employee population, and this is often overlooked. And the key to unlocking their engagement:
Even the high-performing leaders feel stuck and unsupported. By investing in them to fix some of the challenges they face, this will help them feel supported and more in control.
If they feel unrecognised for what theydo or what they are up against is ignored. Help them to feel seen and that the organisation understands that they have a tough job by creating spaces for them to be recognised and provide development and support that addresses the challenges they are facing.
Well-being challenges are high and this has a knock on impact on their team. Provide coaching and mentoring options that help them to identify personal strategies to improve their situation and how to get the support they need.
They need feedback, support and encouragement like all employees. Ensure that their direct leader (even if they are a member of the Executive Team) hold regular and effective 1:1s with them.
By having an intentional plan for leadership engagement your organisation is much more likely to retain high-performers. Beyond this, it will have a knock on impact on the overall engagement of those in leadership roles, which then directly impacts the engagement of all employees.
If your organisation is at risk of losing leaders this September due to their levels of engagement then get in touch and I can work with you to create a plan that helps you retain and engage your leadership talent.
All the best
Anwen
p.s Looking for your organisation’s bespoke approach to leadership retention then book a strategy call by emailing us at info@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk or book directly here.