The leadership pipeline model was first introduced by business analyst Walter R. Mahler during his time at General Electric in the 1970s. In his report entitled Critical Career Crossroads, Mahler suggested a shift in work values according to the various stages of an organization ensured leadership success. The leadership pipeline model is a framework for identifying, developing, or recruiting leaders.
Contents
- Understanding the leadership pipeline model
- The six steps of the leadership pipeline model
- Step 1 – Managing self to managing others
- Step 2 – Managing others to leading managers
- Step 3 – Leading managers to functional manager
- Step 4 – Functional manager to business manager
- Step 5 – Business manager to group manager
- Strategy formation
- Talent identification
- Business needs identification
- Self-actualization
- Step 6 – Group manager to enterprise manager
- Leadership pipeline example
- Key takeaways
- Connected Business Frameworks
- Organizational Structure Case Studies
Understanding the leadership pipeline model
In the year 2000, Mahler’s ideas were developed further by Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, and James Noel in their book The Leadership Pipeline: How To Build The Leadership Powered Company.
The expansion of the leadership pipeline model was underpinned by decades of consultancy experience, with the writers having worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies.
Ultimately, their objective was to develop a strategy organizations could use to nurture leadership.
The result was a six-step model describing the major events every leader experiences, from junior positions to senior executives.
The model also favors a strong internal leadership culture.
Instead of the organization looking externally to recruit leaders, it is encouraged to develop strong leaders itself by moving candidates through the six-step process.
The six steps of the leadership pipeline model
As hinted at in the previous section, the six steps are designed to enable the individual to develop the competencies required for each successive stage.
Let’s take a look at how this progression might play out below:
Step 1 – Managing self to managing others
Employees in this first step are equipped with technical skills but not those required to manage others.
Charan, Drotter, and Noel acknowledge the first step is the hardest because it requires a significant behavioral and value-based transformation.
As a result, the emphasis here should be on teaching the basic functions of management.
This encompasses time and resource management, planning and assigning work, and motivating and assessing subordinates.
Crucially, the employee must shift their mindset from simply tolerating management to realizing its importance.
Step 2 – Managing others to leading managers
According to Charan, Drotter, and Noel, the second step is “the level where a company’s management foundation is constructed; level-two managers select and develop the people who will eventually become the company’s leaders.”
Although it goes without saying, it is vital the business performs this step properly.
Second-level managers must be able to separate themselves from tasks and focus on managing others. In other words, they must be able to assess and select suitable candidates for first-level roles.
They must also be able to provide mentorship and coaching, with less reliance on processes.
Step 3 – Leading managers to functional manager
One of the key differences between a leading manager and a functional manager is the latter’s superior communication skills.
Functional managers must also employ holistic thinking since they will be dealing with other managers from multiple departments.
Competency is measured by team-oriented working and the ability to successfully compete for finite resources while meeting operational needs.
The functional manager must also devise strategies that help the organization gain a long-term competitive advantage
Step 4 – Functional manager to business manager
Business managers are required to make decisions under pressure and have increased autonomy in decision-making.
The transition from functional manager to business manager is significant as the focus shifts from managing to leading.
Indeed, the business manager must control and inspire multiple teams and connect with subordinates on an emotional level.
Furthermore, the business manager must be able to analyze past, current, and future performance to maintain efficient operations under financial and other constraints.
For some individuals, there can be friction at this point.
Business managers must be able to trust and receive advice or feedback from functional managers – especially when they have little knowledge of the function in question.
Step 5 – Business manager to group manager
Primarily, the role of a group manager is to support and encourage other managers to succeed.
This requires four key skills:
Strategy formation
With an emphasis on appropriate capital allocation and deployment.
Talent identification
Or a track record of identifying and supporting the right managerial talent.
Business needs identification
The ability to identify the broader business needs likely to result in expansion and growth. By extension, group managers must be able to recognize parts of the business no longer contributing to success.
Self-actualization
In the context of the leadership pipeline model, this means developing an integrative management approach by using the broadest scope possible.
Step 6 – Group manager to enterprise manager
From this point onward, leaders must understand the values underpinning management strategy and success.
While enterprise managers consider short-term functioning to some extent, the overarching goal should involve long-term visionary thinking.
This means enterprise managers can sense the way forward for a company – even if it is less apparent or invisible to others.
They must also be able to communicate this vision and encourage buy-in across the organization.
Leadership pipeline example
Manchester United
When Sir Alex Ferguson joined Manchester United as football manager in 1986, the team was very much unsuccessful with many players grossly unfit and only one under the age of 24.
Ferguson immediately set about developing a leadership pipeline to rebuild the club from the bottom up.
He realized that assembling a cohesive, winning team did not happen by accident and required selecting players who could perform specific roles, get along well with others, and embrace team values.
To maximize his chances of long-term success, Ferguson needed to look far into the future and create a conveyor belt of talent.
This meant older players would be progressively moved on and replaced with younger talent that could be nurtured to deliver a consistently high level of performance.
In addition to helping the team win more games, younger players bought into the culture Ferguson wanted to create with energy, enthusiasm, and loyalty.
Succession planning is only one aspect of the leadership pipeline – albeit a very important aspect – but the results of Ferguson’s efforts speak for themselves.
During his 26-year tenure, Manchester United amassed 38 domestic and international trophies including 13 Premier League titles.
Just before his resignation in 2013, Forbes announced that the club had become the first sports team to be valued at $3 billion.
General Electric
General Electric is one of several organizations that has instituted a development program to engage managerial staff in the leadership development process.
At the John F. Welch Leadership Development Center in Crotonville, New York, managers and executives from various levels are responsible for teaching the program curriculum and running different leadership development activities.
Since the company takes its leadership pipeline seriously, students are able to step away from their day-to-day work commitments to solely focus on personal development.
With a strong internal focus on the leadership pipeline, General Electric is better equipped to fill positions with current employees.
Existing managers are also immersed in the process of developing the subordinates from their own teams, which empowers them to take an active role and become better coaches.
When senior leaders can develop the company leaders of the future, they also become motivated to provide feedback consistently and constructively.
This ensures that the leadership pipeline is in constant flux, so to speak, because constant feedback results in constant development.
This also ensures that development is not treated as a commodity that is only actioned after a performance review.
As those born between 1980 and 1995 start to fill managerial positions left vacant by retirements, a new generation with different values and skills will lead corporate America into the future.
GE customer success manager Dimitri Leimonitis noted that a key focus of the Crotonville program was centered on “what 21st-century leadership looks like, at a time of such disruption and when multiple generations are entering the workforce.”
Leimonitis also noted that the company had been forced to have a “huge rethink on how we recognize and reward performance in organizations.”
General Electric’s executive-led approach to leadership development in a modern context has been replicated by notable companies such as Yum! Brands, 3M, Home Depot, and Nokia.
Key takeaways
- The leadership pipeline model is a framework for identifying, developing, or recruiting leaders developed by Walter R. Mahler in the 1970s.
- Some decades later, the leadership pipeline model was developed further based on the vast consultancy experience of Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, and James Noel. Together, they developed a framework to help organizations develop a strong internal leadership culture.
- The leadership pipeline model has six stages that explain the progression from a junior employee to an enterprise manager. Each helps the individual develop competencies vital to succeeding at high levels of management.
Connected Business Frameworks


Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model

McKinsey’s Seven Degrees of Freedom





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