Why are individuals leaving your firm today?

Aug 27, 2026

By Mark David

Here are three main reasons, in order of importance:

1. Their immediate manager
2. The company’s culture
3. The lack of investment in their growth and development

Their immediate manager

The immediate manager makes or breaks the loyalty factor. When a manager builds a relationship on trust, respect, transparency, and genuine care for the person and their family, loyalty becomes a very strong bond.

This manager has no problem saying no and delivers tough feedback when it’s needed. Their people depend on them to stay grounded and anchored. The whole team is having fun at work, too especially during the toughest, most challenging stretches. That’s the fuel every great team runs on.

Everyone knows their role and the role of their teammates. The manager keeps everyone aligned around a common Vision, Strategy, and Execution.

Manager, boss, coach, leader — the title doesn’t matter. What matters is what they do for their team, because that’s what earns the results that drive the company’s lasting success.

The company’s culture

Culture is the easiest lever to pull. All leadership has to do is stay connected to the front lines. That’s it.

So what does that take?

• Include front-line employees in company-wide decisions, especially during a reorganization
• Make sure every corporate function truly supports the front lines, instead of setting them up to fail
• Cut the layers of bureaucracy that turn simple tasks into a maze
• Hold upper management accountable for the decisions they make
• Reward the people who deserve it and know who they are
• Make it easy for the culture to move on from people who no longer want to be part of the company’s future; don’t let it become an almost impossible task
• Lastly, show people you genuinely care, by listening to their ideas and acting on the good ones

The lack of investment in their growth and development

Today’s top performers want their managers invested in their growth – their behaviors, talents, and gifts. They want an agreed-upon career track aligned with that growth, and they’re counting on their immediate manager to be their coach, guide, and leader through it.

People want a manager who will block and tackle for them – who fights to knock down the hurdles standing between them and their next role.

As you grow and develop your people, keep handing them more challenging assignments that advance their career path. It empowers them to want to fill the vacuum you’ve created. When you develop talent that moves up within the company, everybody wins – especially your customers.

I can already hear your IVOR, your Internal Voice of Reason – telling you these three focuses make sense, but you don’t have the time; you’re too busy. I know how busy you are, and you’re only going to get busier. Most of the people who leave you are your best people, and I want you to keep them. The answer is becoming conscious of your role as their role model, building a culture strong and exciting enough to thrive in, and investing real time and resources in your people. I’ve given you many ways to put these three focuses into practice. Your job now is to find the time and resources to take it from concept to reality.

I’ll leave you with this: the time you need is already available to you. Most of the answers can be executed during your normal work hours. The resources are already there – you just need to get creative, seek out mentors, and get familiar enough with your corporate operating system to spot where resources are underutilized. It takes a little investigative focus, and the how will appear.

The bottom line for all of us is this: if you want to keep your best people, you have to fight for them. Know that they’re being recruited all the time, and often the offer on the table is simply the title and income they deserve – and aren’t getting from you. But you can give them something no paycheck buys: a real relationship, a culture that supports them, their Purpose Map and Actions, and a coach who genuinely grows and develops their behaviors – which keeps raising their market value. Be the leader who truly makes a difference. Remember, you get promoted when the leaders above you recognize the results and behaviors your direct reports are accomplishing.

I trust your summer has been everything you and your family wanted.

Alex, Summar, and I wish you a wonderful second half of the year. Let us know if we can help you in any way.

Mark David

President – The Mark David Corporation

Education That Works

Appreciate the Day,

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