Talent That Transforms and Doesn't Break

The Unfiltered Leader

No spin. No fluff. Just what actually works.

Markets move fast, teams thin out, and key people get tapped at short notice. Resilient groups absorb shocks, then return to their baseline. Antifragile groups use the shock to get stronger. Only 12% of companies report confidence in their leadership bench strength, down from 18% in 2018 [1]. Meanwhile, UK employee turnover sits at 35%, with more than one-third of workers leaving their jobs each year [2]. We need to develop and design people systems that improve under pressure. Here's the download...

Three structural gaps keep most organisations stuck at "just coping."

Shallow bench. Only 12% of organisations reported a strong leadership bench strength in 2023, a 30% drop in confidence over five years [1]. Companies with strong succession plans have 22% more women leaders and are 6 times more able to engage emerging talent [3]. Yet many critical roles still have no "ready" successor. That fragility shows up when a key person exits and delivery drops for months.

Utilisation at 100%. When you run people at or near full capacity, queues grow and cycle times spike. The average desk worker reports only 4 hours of effective focus time per day [4], while 68% spend at least 30 minutes daily toggling between tools [5]. High utilisation without a buffer creates bottlenecks. A small amount of high-quality clear communication reduces the wait time and improves overall quality, as software delivery studies consistently show [6].

Skills stuck in job boxes. Workers who move internally have a 64% chance of remaining with their organisation after three years, compared to only 45% for those who haven't moved [7]. In 2024, 39% of roles were filled by internal candidates, up from 32% the year before [8]. Yet internal mobility somehow still lags. 9 out of 10 talent mobility experts rate it as "critical for retention" [9], but only 26% of US workers strongly agree their organisation encourages skill building [10]. UK employers report persistent skills gaps that slow their execution.

Antifragile people systems counter all three: clear succession drills, planned communication, and portable skills.

You can't fix talent fragility with another engagement survey. You need new operating rules. Name who can step in, keep a small margin of time for learning and handovers, and make it easy for skills to move to the work. Bench, buffer, and mobility shouldn't be perks. View them for what they are... risk controls.

Companies with strong leadership succession plans are 5X more likely to have plans in place to prevent burnout [3]. Yet most organisations treat succession planning as a once-yearly exercise rather than a continuous operating rhythm. The cost shows up in coverage gaps, delayed decisions, and teams that stall when key people exit.

Planned communication through tools such as Slack isn't laziness. It creates a capacity in reserve for the work that matters: coaching, improvement, and rapid response when demand spikes. Organisations that protect 10-15% capacity see faster cycle times and higher quality [6]. Those that run at 100% utilisation create queues, errors, and eventual collapse.

Skills liquidity means capabilities flow to where value is created. Employees who move into new jobs internally are 3.5X more likely to be engaged than those who stay static [7]. Internal fill rates of 35-40% correlate with stronger retention, faster time-to-productivity, and lower recruiting costs [8][11].

Three actions you should change

1. Succession by design, not hope

• List your top 10 roles by impact

• For each, name a ready-now candidate, a ready-soon candidate, and the one skill gap that blocks readiness

• Run a 60-minute "succession drill" monthly: shadow, co-present, or co-sign one decision for each role

• Measure time-to-coverage when someone is out. Aim to cut that time by 50%

Bench strength improves when readiness is rehearsed, not discussed. Aim for at least three qualified successors for each critical position [12]. Companies that track successor movement between readiness levels see measurable improvements in leadership pipeline health [13].

2. Consider Slack (or similar) as a performance tool

• Set a 10-15% slack budget per critical team. Protect it for handovers, training, and improvement work

• Cap work in progress. Close one item before opening the next

• Publish a simple rule: when cycle time or error rate rises, pause starts and use slack for fixes

Small buffers reduce queues and stabilise delivery under load. High utilisation without margin creates volatility and delays [6]. The average knowledge worker wastes 103 hours yearly in unnecessary meetings and 209 hours on duplicated work [14]. Slack budgets create space to eliminate this waste.

3. Build skill liquidity

• Map five capabilities your strategy needs next quarter. List adjacent skills already in-house

• Create a lightweight internal marketplace: 30-day gigs, stretch assignments, and Friday hours that let people apply those adjacencies

• Track two metrics: internal fill rate for priority roles and retention after an internal move

Internal moves raise retention and fill roles faster than external hires. Workers who pursue stretch roles with up to 40% non-overlapping new skills adapt fastest [15]. In 2024, 39% of roles were filled internally, with more than half of talent acquisition leaders planning to increase that percentage in 2025 [8]. Companies save $1 million or more through internal mobility during restructuring [8].

Operating plan and cadence

• Monthly: Succession drill and coverage check

• Weekly: Slack review (where the margin went and what improved)

• Quarterly: Skills marketplace report (internal fill rate, time to fill, top adjacencies used)

Here's the brief

Antifragility in people systems is built, not wished for. Rehearse coverage, keep a small buffer, and move skills to live work. Do that, and every shock leaves your team stronger. The organisations that will dominate aren't those with perfect plans. They're the ones whose people systems gain capability from disruption.

20-Second Antifragility Check

Answer yes or no:

• We have named ready-now and ready-soon successors for our top 10 roles

• Our critical teams operate with a published 10-15% slack budget

• We limit work in progress and close one item before opening another

• At least 35% of priority roles are filled through internal moves

• We can cover a key role within one week without losing delivery

Three or more "yes" answers suggest your people system gains from pressure. Fewer than three signals a propensity towards fragility. Start with the succession drill.

The Numbers

• 12% of companies report confidence in leadership bench strength (down from 18% in 2018) [1]

• 35% UK employee turnover rate annually [2]

• 22% more women leaders in companies with strong succession plans [3]

• 6X more able to engage emerging talent with strong succession [3]

• 4 hours of effective focus time per day for average desk worker [4]

• 68% spend 30+ minutes daily toggling between tools [5]

• 64% retention after 3 years for internal movers vs 45% for non-movers [7]

• 39% of roles filled internally in 2024 (up from 32% in 2023) [8]

• 3.5X more engaged are employees who move internally [7]

• 90% of talent mobility experts rate internal mobility as critical for retention [9]

• 103 hours wasted yearly in unnecessary meetings per knowledge worker [14]

References

1. DDI. "Global Leadership Forecast 2023." 2023.

2. Stribe. "15 Employee Retention Statistics to Know Ahead of 2026 (UK)." January 2024.

3. Resume.io. "67 Interesting Leadership Statistics: Trends & Challenges (2025)." October 2025.

4. Slack. "Your Guide to Increasing Work Productivity." March 2024.

5. Slack. "Powering Productivity in the Workplace." State of Work Research, 2024.

6. Hopp, W. & Spearman, M. "Factory Physics," 3rd ed. 2008.

7. Nestor. "Benefits of Internal Mobility: 5 Statistics You Should Know." July 2023.

8. Veris Insights. "Internal Talent Mobility: 5 Best Practices for an Effective Program." August 2025.

9. OneRange. "Looking Inward: The ROI of Internal Mobility." September 2025.

10. Gallup. "Employee Engagement and Skill Building." Cited in OneRange, 2025.

11. Burns Sheehan. "Optimising Internal Mobility Programmes." July 2024.

12. Peoplebox. "10 Succession Planning Metrics You Should Know." July 2025.

13. SIGMA Assessment Systems. "Build Your Succession Bench." August 2024.

14. Time Doctor. "Workplace Productivity Statistics (2024 Update)." March 2025.

15. McKinsey & Company. "Building Workforce Skills at Scale." Cited in Nestor, 2023.