TALES FROM THE LEADERSHIP FRONT
At first, Ethan thought the problem was technical. As CEO of a fast-scaling software development firm with 1,000 employees, he assumed sluggish innovation came from poor systems or process bottlenecks. But after three quarters of declining engagement scores and higher-than-expected turnover among emerging managers, he realized something deeper was at play – leadership misalignment.
Some teams moved fast, others hesitated. Strategy shifted well at the top, but middle leaders interpreted priorities differently. Chaos, Ethan realized, wasn’t from lack of effort, it was from lack of unity.
Working closely with the company’s CHRO, Dana, Ethan launched a company-wide Leadership Resource Management (LRM) initiative. They mapped all leadership positions against leadership competencies to determine who did and did not meet the leadership requirements of their position. Using structured, AI-driven position assessments, they identified three layers of misalignment: role clarity, leadership preparedness, and situational fit.
Instead of replacing leaders, they recalibrated. Managers received targeted coaching, and dashboards showed real-time alignment metrics across divisions. The company transformed from a “network of silos” to a “system of shared outcomes.”
Within six months, engagement scores rose 23%, voluntary turnover dropped by half, and release cycles accelerated by 30%. Just as striking was how leadership meetings shifted from debate to direction.
Ethan later said, “Our breakthrough wasn’t new code – it was new clarity. Leadership alignment became our competitive advantage.”
Today, the company’s Leadership Resource Management framework serves as its backbone for scaling. The system didn’t change what leaders did, it aligned how they led.
Learn more at LeadershipRM.com
