I was talking to a business leader who was struggling with his top leadership team. But that was only the symptom. The problem was deeper.

It started with a lack of employee retention. Most new hires weren’t lasting three years, let alone the 15 years or more they used to.

That lack of retention created a leadership gap because, in the past, the leaders were the people who stuck around long enough to know everything.

Without a process to develop leaders and no one sticking around long enough to become a leader, there was always a need for local managers.

And the need for local managers forced their regional managers to fill in the gaps. Which in turn meant that the senior leadership team was having to cover for the regional managers.

Which brings us back to the start. The senior leadership team didn’t have the time to do the work that was uniquely theirs to do.

They couldn’t remember their last strategy session.

They didn’t have a growth plan they were driving.

They weren’t developing their direct reports.

And they felt like they never had the time to fix the retention problem.

Do you see the circle? It all started with declining employee retention and ended with them not having the time to stop that decline.

So what’s the answer? They needed to take three big steps:

First, even though it could cause short-term pain, the top leadership team must do only the work that is theirs to do. Without that step, you won’t break the vicious circle and the business can’t improve.

Second, start creating an employee experience that will improve retention.

Third, address the the leadership gap with an intentional career path and development plan for everyone in the business.

Those three things will help that leadership team get to where they want to be. And have them ready to solve the next big challenge.