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Building a Leadership Pipeline Through a Growth Mindset

  • tcinello
  • Apr 30
  • 4 min read

Updated: May 8


By Tony Cinello, Founder – Anthony Andrew

Executive Summary

If you’re relying solely on external executive searches to fill your leadership bench, you’re already behind.


Across the mid-market companies we support—especially in private equity, healthcare, and IT—I’m seeing a growing awareness that developing internal talent is a strategic imperative, not an HR initiative.


The key? A growth mindset culture—one that rewards learning, embraces resilience, and encourages decision-making beyond job titles.

In this article, I’ll share what CHROs, CPOs, and Chief Talent Officers can do to cultivate that mindset, reduce over-reliance on external hires, and build a leadership pipeline that doesn’t collapse the moment a VP exits.


The Case for Internal Leadership Development

Let’s start with the economics. Replacing an executive externally costs between 1.5x to 2.5x their annual salary, depending on onboarding complexity and lost productivity (SHRM, 2024). But the bigger issue isn’t cost—it’s momentum.

When your internal leaders aren’t ready to step up, growth stalls.

Yet, according to Gallup, only 21% of employees strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work (Gallup, 2023). That’s a cultural problem—and a missed opportunity to foster leadership readiness at every level.


What Exactly Is a Growth Mindset?

Coined by Dr. Carol Dweck, a growth mindset is the belief that skills and intelligence can be developed through effort, feedback, and learning (Dweck, 2006).

In an organizational setting, it’s about encouraging people to take initiative, learn from failure, and stretch into new areas—even if it’s uncomfortable.


Growth mindset in action:

  • A customer success manager leading a cross-functional initiative

  • A senior engineer mentoring and developing junior teammates

  • A high-potential finance lead volunteering for an operational task force


This mindset unlocks talent that’s often hiding in plain sight.


Why It Matters in Mid-Market Firms

At $25M–$1.5B in revenue, you likely don’t have a formal leadership academy—but you do have high performers who want more.


And in PE-backed environments or high-change verticals like healthcare and IT, you need people who can scale with the company, not just perform a job description.

Firms that build internal leadership pipelines:


  • Accelerate time-to-fill on critical roles

  • Retain top performers longer

  • Foster cross-functional problem solving

  • Reduce disruption during leadership transitions


5 Strategies to Build a Growth-Minded Leadership Pipeline


1. Normalize Stretch Assignments

Don’t wait for a promotion to expand someone’s scope. Instead:

  • Create 60–90 day initiatives cross-department leads can own

  • Let mid-level talent present to the executive team

  • Use “deputy” roles to preview VP/Director responsibilities


According to LinkedIn Learning, 69% of employees say they would stay longer at a company that invested in their career growth (LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, 2024).


2. Reward Learning, Not Just Output

If your culture only rewards finished outcomes, you’ll kill initiative. Build recognition programs around:

  • Knowledge-sharing (lunch & learns, mentoring)

  • Certifications or self-directed education

  • Public reflections on failed experiments or lessons learned


3. Formalize Internal Mobility

Make sure high-potential employees know that:

  • Movement across teams is encouraged, not penalized

  • Lateral moves are respected, not demotions

  • Leadership is a skill—not a title


Bonus: Encourage CHROs and CPOs to run quarterly “growth conversations” that focus on aspirations, not just goals.


4. Train Managers to Spot (and Coach) Potential

Mid-market firms often lack people managers who understand how to identify leadership behaviors, not just performance metrics. Invest in:

  • Training managers on growth mindset principles

  • Coaching conversations that explore decision-making and self-awareness

  • Feedback loops that separate risk-taking from recklessness


5. Tie Leadership Readiness to Real Business Impact

Create a “leadership lab” inside the business:

  • Assign high-potential leaders to cost-saving initiatives, product launches, or expansion efforts

  • Let them co-lead with an executive sponsor

  • Track business results and development growth in tandem


The Recruiter’s Perspective

I’ve spent my career building executive teams—but the most successful companies I work with aren’t just hiring leaders… they’re making them.

If you’re constantly sourcing externally for VP- and Director-level roles, that’s a symptom. The root cause? A flat culture. A missing coaching muscle. A talent strategy that treats leadership as something you buy, not something you build.

Partnering with a recruiter like me isn’t just about who to bring in—it’s about when to stop the bleeding. And growth mindset culture is often the tourniquet.


Conclusion

Your next CFO, CTO, or GM might already be in the building. But if your culture doesn’t show them a path, they’ll take one elsewhere.

Building a leadership pipeline through a growth mindset isn’t a feel-good initiative—it’s a competitive advantage.

If you want help identifying stretch talent in your org—or if your last leadership hire was a scramble instead of a plan—I’d be glad to help you assess where your pipeline stands.

Because growing leaders internally? That’s the surest way to scale externally.

—

Tony Cinello Founder | Anthony Andrew Retained Executive Search | Leadership Advisory



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