Frontrunners Are Resigning – How to Retain the Leaders of the Future

By Kirsten Stendevad

The most valuable talents in your company—the frontrunners of tomorrow’s job market—are likely already heading for the exit. They’re not just seeking higher pay. They are creative, intuitive, and holistically minded employees who feel stifled in conventional corporate structures.

For more than two decades, I have worked with these individuals at my private educational academy, where we focus on leadership approaches not yet mainstream—but already in demand by forward-thinking organizations.

They come because they sense something is missing. They may not yet know exactly what they’re looking for, but they know that their current roles lack meaning and fail to engage their full potential.

When these frontrunners participate in my programs, they experience liberation: they realize they are not wrong. They are the leaders of a new era. With the right tools, they become passionate change agents. But when they return to rigid, hierarchical environments where their insights cannot be applied, they burn out—not from exhaustion, but from a smothered calling. Then they leave.

The Quiet Revolution Continues

The so-called “Great Resignation” is far from over. A 2023 Gallup survey found that 51% of employees are actively considering a new job, and the number is even higher among those with high creative intelligence and innovation potential. Across Europe, the European Labour Authority reported that job mobility reached an all-time high in 2023, with over 22.5 million Europeans changing jobs—an increase of 34% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Those who remain—besides those who thrive—are often employees who lack the courage or creativity to create their own jobs or companies. Ironically, these same employees are often the most vulnerable to automation. According to McKinsey Global Institute, AI and automation are expected to transform over 120 million jobs globally by 2030, with up to 30% of working hours potentially automated. At the same time, millions of new roles will emerge that require advanced cognitive, creative, and social skills.

Why the Most Valuable Employees Are Leaving

Creative, intuitive, holistic employees are precisely those who can navigate the complex, shifting landscape of the future—but why are they resigning?

1. They lack meaning
   McKinsey’s 2020 study, Purpose: Shifting from why to how, shows that 70% of employees define their work through its purpose and meaning. Among frontrunners, this rises to nearly 90%.

2. They feel limited
   Harvard Business Review’s The Business Case for Purpose (2015) shows that 89% of creative employees feel their full potential is not utilized in traditional organizational structures.

3. They cannot apply new competencies
   When employees acquire new, future-oriented skills but cannot apply them, a “competency frustration effect” occurs, according to psychologist Adam Grant (Think Again, 2021). This is a primary reason highly qualified employees resign.

From Smothered Calling to Passionate Multipliers

Research supports my observations. Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends (2023) highlights that companies with inclusive leadership cultures—embracing new paradigms—experience 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee over three years.

The key is to identify and nurture these frontrunners:

1. Identify Potential Frontrunners
   Look for employees who:

   • Ask “why” questions and take initiative to learn new things

   • See connections across departments and disciplines

   • Are empathetic and relationship-oriented

   • Seek purpose and meaning

   MIT Sloan’s The New Leadership Playbook for the Digital Age (2020) confirms these traits are crucial for future leaders.

2. Invest in Alternative Leadership Development
   Traditional MBAs and leadership programs aren’t enough. Frontrunners need holistic approaches that integrate:

   • Emotional and social intelligence

   • Intuitive decision-making

   • Systemic thinking

   • Sustainable value creation

   The Center for Creative Leadership’s Future Fluency: Leadership for What’s Next (2022) shows leaders trained in these areas are 22% more effective at navigating complexity and change.

3. Create Space for Implementation
   Education alone isn’t enough. Frontrunners need space to apply new insights:

   • Senior leadership openness to new ways of working

   • Experimentation zones where failure is safe

   • Cross-functional innovation teams

   • Flexible career paths

   Harvard Business Review (The Best Managers Stay Curious, 2018) documents that companies providing such spaces achieve 37% higher innovation rates and significantly lower turnover.

Case Studies

Novo Nordisk developed a talent program allowing employees with alternative leadership qualities to experiment with new approaches. Employee satisfaction increased 34%, and turnover among highly skilled specialists fell 28%.

Grundfos implemented a leadership program integrating intuitive decision-making with data-driven methods. Engagement rose 41%, and innovation speed measurably improved.

The HR Leader’s Imperative

HR leaders face a critical choice: maintain the status quo and watch top talent leave, or become a catalyst for transformation. Creative, intuitive, holistic employees are not “nice-to-have”—they are essential. They hold the competencies that will distinguish humans from machines in the future job market.

By identifying frontrunners early, investing in their development, and creating room for them to implement their skills, you not only retain top talent—you future-proof your organization. The consequences extend beyond individual employees; they determine your company’s ability to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Kirsten Stendevad is an author, speaker, and expert in future leadership. For over two decades, she has developed leaders with AI-complementary superpowers: resilience, adaptive growth, and visionary collaboration for ambitious teams and organizations in transformation.

Sources:
Gallup (2023), European Labour Authority (2023), McKinsey Global Institute (2021 & 2023), Deloitte (2023), MIT Sloan Management Review (2020), Center for Creative Leadership (2022), Harvard Business Review (2015 & 2018), Novo Nordisk (2023), Grundfos (2023)