LEADERS KEEP LEAVING? IT’S NOT BAD LUCK. IT’S A PATTERN.

28 Mar LEADERS KEEP LEAVING? IT’S NOT BAD LUCK. IT’S A PATTERN.

The Pattern I Keep Seeing

I’m in the middle of a search right now.

But honestly… when am I not?

And like I always do, I start mapping the market.

• Who’s strong
• Who’s growing
• Who’s stable
• Who’s quietly bleeding

After nearly 30 years recruiting civil engineers, certain patterns jump out fast.

And there’s one I’ve now seen more times than I can count.

The Cycle

It usually looks like this:

• Director-level hire
• Branch Manager hire
• Big announcement
• Big expectations

Everyone’s excited.

Momentum feels real.

Then about 12 to 18 months later?

They’re gone.

And then it happens again.

And again.

At Some Point, It’s Not Bad Luck

One departure? Maybe a mismatch.

Two? Worth a closer look.

Three or more?

That’s not coincidence.

That’s a pattern.

And patterns deserve a mirror.

The Questions Most Firms Avoid

If you’re a company officer or executive and this keeps happening, there are some hard questions that need to be asked.

Not externally.

Internally.

• Are we hiring leaders, or are we hiring firefighters to fix structural issues?
• Are we truly empowering them, or handcuffing them with legacy politics and micromanagement?
• Are expectations clearly defined, or constantly shifting?
• Are compensation and incentives aligned with the level of accountability we expect?
• Are we actually ready for change, or do we just say we are?
• When someone leaves, do we conduct real self-assessment, or default to blaming “fit”?

Those answers matter more than any next hire.

The Real Cost of Leadership Turnover

Turnover at the top is expensive.

Not just financially.

It shows up in ways that are harder to measure:

• Morale takes a hit
• Momentum stalls
• Internal confidence erodes
• Reputation in the market suffers

And trust me, the market notices.

Candidates talk.

Employees talk.

Competitors definitely talk.

The Ceiling Most Firms Don’t See

Some firms accept this cycle.

“It’s just the nature of the business.”

Alright.

But those firms rarely grow beyond a certain ceiling.

Because you cannot build something stable on a revolving door of leadership.

What the Best Firms Do Differently

The firms that actually grow?

They do a few things differently.

• They swallow their pride
• They acknowledge patterns
• They make real adjustments
• They build environments where leaders can actually lead

Not just manage chaos.

Not just fight internal battles.

Actually lead.

The Bottom Line

If you are serious about growth, accountability has to start in the boardroom.

Because sometimes the issue is not the third director who left.

Sometimes it is the system they walked into.