Bye, Felicia.
When your top performers resign, it’s seldom because someone dangled a few extra pounds elsewhere. More often, the issue sits inside your four walls. People tend to move on when they don’t feel valued, lack autonomy, or aren’t being challenged enough.
Sometimes the business outgrows them because you haven’t invested in their leadership and development. At other times, they outgrow the business because their ambition outpaces the opportunities you offer.
Below are four practical steps to keep hold of your A-players.
1. Understand What Motivates Your People
Every individual is different. Some chase bigger bonuses, others crave flexibility or meaningful impact. Sit down with each key player and uncover what truly drives them. Once you know, match responsibilities, projects and rewards to those personal motivators.
Quick win: Schedule quarterly check-ins purely focused on motivations and career goals — separate from performance reviews.
2. Create Clear Career Paths
Growth must feel structured, not chaotic. If employees can’t see where they fit in the company’s future, they’ll look elsewhere. Map out progression ladders and communicate them openly.
Even if you can’t promote someone today, discuss where they want to be and what skills they need. Provide training now so they’re ready when the role appears.
To dig deeper into building the right structure, read about why culture is defined by what you tolerate.
3. Give People Ownership
High performers don’t want to check in every five minutes. They want to own outcomes. Too many leaders delegate only small, tactical tasks, creating a queue of people waiting for instructions.
Hand over real responsibility, invest in coaching if needed, and let them run with it. Stretching responsibilities stretches capability.
If you’re worried about letting go, Marco Soares’s guide on developing your people offers practical help.
4. Have Regular, Meaningful One-to-Ones
A proper one-to-one isn’t an operations meeting in disguise. It’s protected time to talk about the person:
- What matters most to them right now?
- Which challenges are blocking progress?
- Where do they want to be in 12 months?
These conversations don’t happen by chance; they require intent. Treat them as non-negotiable diary fixtures.
For more on attracting and keeping great people, see Attracting the right talent.
Our Final Thoughts
To keep momentum, build an environment where people feel energised, engaged and accountable. When things go south, resist blaming the outside world. Please visit our YouTube channel for more on our other series
Mind your own business.
He said it.
He said it.
See you next time on “Mind Your Own Business.“
Please see our YouTube video on what we’ve discussed in more context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8xakh3fAuM
