MENTAL MODEL · M0716

Leaky Pipeline

BusinessHigh supportManagement

Included

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Refers to the phenomenon where, at various stages of talent development (primary school, university, graduate school, junior staff, executives), certain groups (such as women and ethnic minorities) continuously leak out at each transition point, like water flowing through a pipe with holes.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Full-process retention analysis. If you find a lack of diversity at the top, don't just focus on executive hiring. Since the pipeline is connected, you must examine every 'transition point' from interns to middle management for structural leaks.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Talent flows along the growth pipeline (primary school → university → research → junior → executive), and specific groups continuously leak at each 'transition point' due to structural barriers, leading to underrepresentation at the top. The pipeline is connected, so point-specific recruitment cannot compensate for leaks throughout the entire process.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/2

Practice this model in one real situation:

If you find a lack of diversity at the top, don't just focus on executive hiring
examine every transition point from internship to middle management (promotion criteria, compensation, culture) for leaks and fix them systematically. Treat 'retention' as a full-process engineering effort.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

Learning progress0%

account_treeGenealogyexpand_more

menu_bookReferencesexpand_more

Source support: Explicit

link
en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_STEMZH · Explicit
verified

RELATED MODELS