Featured in The Business Guide distributed with The Telegraph on 31 October 2026
The hidden leadership gap.
Your accounts show financial performance. They rarely reveal whether your leadership team is ready for growth, succession or your next move. Answer eight questions to see where your business stands, then look at an illustrative estimate of what avoidable staff turnover may be costing you.
Leadership readiness check
Answer honestly; nobody else will see this. Your answers stay on this page and are not stored or sent anywhere.
01If I stepped back tomorrow, someone in the business is ready to run it.
02Every senior role has a credible successor, or a plan to develop one.
03Our senior team is genuinely aligned on strategy, not just polite in the room.
04Important decisions get made without waiting for me.
05Our directors were developed as leaders, not simply promoted for being good at the work.
06Problems reach the board early, before they become expensive.
07We know why good people leave, and we act on it.
08Our board gets the independent challenge it needs.
Your result and the areas to look at first will appear here.
An illustrative cost estimate
What avoidable staff turnover may be costing a business like yours. Rough figures are fine.
- Cost per leaver: £30,614. The Oxford Economics UK average for replacing an employee, mostly output lost while a new starter gets up to speed. It is at 2014 prices and is not adjusted for inflation or for senior roles.
- One in three leavers treated as avoidable. Based on the CMI and YouGov finding that one in three UK workers has left a job because of a negative work culture.
- Not included: lost productivity, the cost of vacant senior roles, and the effect on the value of your business.
- This is an illustration built on published averages, not an assessment of your business.
Talk it through, in confidence.
A check and an estimate are a starting point. A conversation shows where the gap sits in your senior team, what it means for growth and succession, and what to do first. We offer a free, confidential leadership conversation with Paul Starbuck MCC.
