Do Your High-Potential Female Leaders Have Enough Support?

Feeling undervalued, unsupported, and stuck without a clear path upward are the main reasons high-potential female leaders decide to leave. When she goes, the obvious costs arrive quickly: you have to replace her and bring someone new up to speed.

The less obvious costs can be even steeper. Her team loses productivity and momentum. Customers lose the relationships and trust she spent years building. Institutional knowledge walks out the door, and the colleagues who watched her leave start wondering whether they have a future with you either.

She Has More Agency Than She Thinks

Many high-potential women leaders have more agency than they realize, and some of the myths they carry quietly hold them back. The most common is “my work will speak for itself.”

It won’t, at least not on its own. Competency is crucial, but it’s possible that a peer who is louder about their accomplishments is simply more visible. Visibility shapes who gets considered for the next opportunity, and strong performers who stay quiet can be overlooked. Part of supporting your high-potential women is helping them see this and giving them room to make their contributions known, and giving them the tools to do it authentically and confidently.

Three Questions to Ask

If you’re concerned that your high-potential women leaders may be thinking about entertaining other offers, now or in the future, start with a conversation. These three questions help them become more visible and supported, and they help you feel more confident that they’ll stay.

1. “Let’s assume it’s one to five years down the road. What would make your role here a 10+ for you?” This invites her to describe the future she wants, and it shows you whether that future can exist inside your organization.

2. “What support feels most important to you right now?” Her answer might be a sponsor, a stretch assignment, a coach, or simply more access to decision-makers. You can’t fix what you don’t know about.

3. “What are the non-pecuniary items you value the most?” In other words, what matters to her beyond money? Flexibility, autonomy, recognition, learning opportunities, and meaningful work often carry more weight than leaders expect.

You Don’t Have to Promise Everything

You can’t guarantee titles, promotions, compensation, or every non-monetary perk, and she doesn’t expect you to. What you can do is make her feel heard. Along the way, you’ll gather valuable information about what matters to her and what she needs to succeed. That knowledge lets you act on what you can and be honest about what you can’t, and honesty builds the trust that keeps strong leaders engaged.

See the Results for Yourself

If you’re curious how one recent High Performance Executive Accelerator cohort of high-potential female executives is doing in job satisfaction, retention, and promotion velocity, have a look at my Rising Star Mid-way Report.

I’m glad to answer any questions. Simply email me directly at Sheryl@SherylKline.com.

I’m Sheryl, and I ensure you are the go to trusted strategic advisor, and you prepare and retain your high-potential female leaders.

Cheering you on, always!
- Sheryl