According to a new report from leadership consultancy DDI, there are serious challenges facing leadership development in Europe. Trust in business leaders is at an all time low.
The Europe Leadership Report 2025 gathered insights from 428 leaders in 18 countries, and 250 HR professionals. It found that there are significant gaps between what leaders need to learn and what training organizations provide.
80% of HR organisations, according to the report predict an increase in the demand for new leadership skills over the next five-year period. Only 22 percent of the organisations surveyed have made addressing critical skills gaps a priority in their development plans.
Leadership skills like strategic planning, employee involvement, and decision making are underdeveloped. While 55 percent of leaders deemed setting strategy to be essential, only thirteen percent said they had received relevant training. Leaders also deem it important to engage employees and identify future talent, but only 15% and 8% of them have received training in these areas.
Stress and burnout threaten the leadership pipeline
Bruce Watt, Ph.D. Senior Vice President of DDI spoke about the importance of targeted training. He said, “When leaders burn out and are under stress, this creates a harmful ripple effect in organisations.” How we support and develop our leaders is the solution. “Organisations that invest in skill development and give leaders the tools and time to succeed not only prevent burnout, but they also create resilient leadership teams which drive sustainable business results.”
Stress and burnout are identified as the two major threats to Europe’s talent in leadership. Over half of the leaders (54%) reported an increase in stress after taking on their new roles. 72 percent expressed concerns about burnout. Unbelievably, 40% of these leaders had considered quitting their leadership positions. Another key factor is lack of time. Only 19 percent of these leaders say they have enough time to fulfill their responsibilities.
Watt said: ” Investing in developing and protecting leaders today is the only way to ensure organisational health.
