Why 46% of European Employees Are Turning Down Leadership Roles

Jan de Vries · 2026-11-12

By Eleanor Hecks, a business and leadership writer who currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of design and business publication Designerly Magazine. Her work, which focuses on preparing today's leaders for modern workplace challenges, has been featured on sites including Fast Company and HubSpot. For employees who want to grow in their careers, climbing the ladder might once have seemed the obvious route. Yet that ambition can take a different shape when the next step involves leading a team. For European businesses hoping to encourage such a move, the challenge is to make leading others feel like an opportunity employees can see themselves choosing. ### Why Leadership Looks Unappealing Across European Markets According to Ipsos, 46% of employees across Europe find becoming a people manager unattractive or very unattractive. In Sweden, that figure climbs to 63%. Faced with that reluctance, employers have good reason to consider what their current approach signals to potential candidates. Encouragingly, the same report finds management's appeal is 2.6 times higher among employees who feel supported in their careers. Its researchers suggest that difficulties in attracting candidates may reflect whether people can see a worthwhile future in those roles. That gives employers a practical reason to examine the experience those positions actually offer. ### Practical Ways to Build Interest in Leadership Roles Leadership can feel more appealing when employees understand what it involves and how the organization will support them. Building that interest can take several forms, from clearer career paths to opportunities to learn from experienced colleagues. ### Show Employees a Clear Path to Leadership When someone hopes to progress in their career, explain how you select candidates and what they need to demonstrate. A small project with guidance from an experienced colleague can give them a manageable first step toward greater responsibility. At an organizational level, people-centered management is associated with more successful business outcomes across countries and sectors. That connection gives employers a wider reason to consider how everyday working practices bring out their teams' strengths. Recognition programs can provide another reference point for the qualities your organization values. The European Business Awards, for example, include employee engagement and business innovation among its core values. These themes give you useful material for conversations about the contribution future leaders could make. ### Pair Rising Talent with Leaders Who've Been There Once employees understand the route ahead, a mentor can help them explore what taking that step would involve day-to-day. European business Hilti incorporates this personal insight into its Emerging Leaders program, where senior colleagues share career lessons and mistakes. Such exchanges form part of its wider development approach, through which around 80% of its current leaders have progressed internally. You could bring that same approach into your organization by letting aspiring leaders' questions shape mentoring discussions. If someone worries about constant availability, for instance, an experienced colleague could explain how they manage competing demands while protecting their time. That offers a realistic account rather than a polished success story. ### Offer Structured Leadership Training for Future Leaders Structured training can give aspiring leaders opportunities to develop the capabilities they'll need when handling everyday team challenges. According to leadership training experts at The Center for Leadership Studies, effective training for future leaders should focus on these core skills: - **Adaptability:** Practice adjusting to new circumstances and learning from setbacks rather than relying on familiar approaches. - **Change leadership:** Help participants explain transitions and address concerns with clarity and empathy. - **Communication:** Train future leaders to listen actively and give feedback that people can actually act on. - **Coaching:** Show them how to develop others instead of simply directing them. As one leadership development specialist put it: "People don't avoid leadership because they lack ambition. They avoid it because nobody showed them what it could look like on a good day." That's the real takeaway here. Your best people aren't necessarily saying no to responsibility. They're saying no to the version of it they've seen so far. Change what leadership looks like in your organization, and the interest often follows.