In my last post, I talked about how retention has shifted. Once upon a time, companies leaned on pensions to keep people around. Today, it’s culture and psychological safety that anchor loyalty. But here’s another layer we don’t talk about enough: sometimes the best way to build loyalty is to help people grow — even if that growth takes them somewhere else.
Sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? After all, we’re told good leaders “retain” their people. But retention for the sake of retention can backfire. If someone has hit their growth ceiling and you ignore it — or worse, ask them to “suck it up” — they’ll disengage long before they actually walk out the door.
Real leadership asks a different question: “Where do you want to go from here?” Maybe you can’t offer the next role they’re ready for. Maybe the opportunity they’re looking for doesn’t exist inside your walls. That doesn’t mean your investment ends. It means you shift from guarding tenure to supporting their journey.
I’ve seen this play out beautifully. A leader who helps an employee prepare for interviews outside the company. A manager who encourages someone to shadow roles beyond their department. A CEO who thanks a departing team member for training their replacement before leaving. These aren’t acts of loss — they’re acts of leadership.
And here’s the paradox: when people know you care about them — not just their job title — they’re more likely to leave well. They wrap up projects, document processes, and speak highly of your organization long after they’re gone. Some even boomerang back years later with new skills and fresh energy. That’s loyalty of a different kind.
At its core, leadership isn’t about clinging to people. It’s about investing in them. It’s about seeing growth as a journey you share, whether it unfolds inside your organization or beyond it.
Retention still matters, of course. But as leaders, our bigger job is tending to relationships. And when you prioritize growth and goodwill over numbers and headcount, you build something stronger than retention — you build trust that lasts.
Photo by Frank Oosterbaan on Unsplash
