You Will Lose Good People. That’s The Point.
One of the things I love most about working in Support Ops is getting to be a coach and mentor for my team.
Watching someone realize they’re capable of more than they thought? That never gets old.
Watching someone figure something out for the first time.
Take on something they weren’t sure they were ready for.
Step into something bigger than they thought they could handle.
That’s the good stuff.
But here’s the part nobody really talks about.
All that growth? It comes with a few growing pains for the leader, too.
Because sometimes helping people grow means they eventually outgrow you—or the company.
Turns out, “developing your people” comes with a side effect nobody mentions in leadership training.
Developing people means accepting that one day they’ll walk out the door and go do bigger things somewhere else.
And honestly, that can be tough to sit with.
Why Good People Leave (And Why That Doesn’t Mean You Screwed Up)
When someone great leaves your team, it’s easy to wonder if you messed up somewhere. But most of the time, it’s not about failure at all.
That’s just how careers go.
1. They Outgrow the Box You Hired Them Into
Sometimes people simply reach the ceiling of what their current role can offer them.
You can’t just wave a magic wand and make the perfect next job appear, no matter how much you want to. If I could, trust me — there are a lot of people I’d still be working with. Sometimes the company structure, the budget, or the timing just doesn’t line up.
I’ve had people on my team who were clearly ready for more. They had the skills, the ambition, the drive. But the role they needed didn’t yet exist.
And as much as I wanted to keep them around, I knew they deserved that next step—somewhere.
Keeping them from moving on wouldn’t have been leadership. It would’ve just been selfish.
2. Another Company Shows Up With a Shiny Offer
Every now and then, another company comes along and offers something you simply can’t match.
A bigger title.
More scope.
Better compensation.
A location change.
A completely new opportunity.
That’s not you failing. That’s just the market being the market.
If someone gets a chance that really moves their career forward, the right thing to do is support them—even if you wish they’d stay.
3. Life Happens
Careers don’t exist in a vacuum.
People relocate.
Family needs change.
Health issues come up.
Burnout happens.
Sometimes someone just decides they want a completely different path.
The job that felt perfect two years ago might not fit anymore.
And honestly? That’s okay.
People’s lives change. Priorities shift. A good leader gets that work is just one part of someone’s life—not the whole story.
4. They’re Ready for the Next Teacher
This one is actually the goal.
At some point, you’ve given someone everything you can:
Every bit of advice.
Every opportunity to stretch their skills.
Every lesson you learned the hard way.
Eventually, they need something new.
A different environment.
New challenges.
Maybe even a new mentor.
That’s not a loss at all.
That’s proof the work you did with them mattered.
What Your Job Actually Is
When you take away the org charts and performance reviews, your job as a leader is actually pretty simple:
Make their time with you worth it.
Give them real opportunities to grow.
Let them try things they’re not totally ready for yet.
Let them fail safely and learn from it.
Invest in their growth, even if you know it might mean they’ll move on someday.
Those “lightbulb moments” with your team are some of the most satisfying parts of leadership.
The first time someone leads a project.
The first time they navigate a difficult conversation well.
The first time they turn around and teach someone else something they’ve learned.
Those are the moments when you realize you’re not just running a team anymore—you’re helping build someone’s career.
Help Them Grow (Even If It Means Growing Beyond You)
One of the hardest parts of leadership is resisting the urge to keep great people exactly where they are.
It’s tempting.
Great employees make your life easier.
Which is exactly why it’s tempting to quietly keep them right where they are.
But keeping someone in place just because it makes your life easier? That’s not leadership.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is encourage someone to look for new opportunities—even if it means outside your team.
Introduce them to mentors.
Recommend them for projects.
Help them build the skills they’ll need for the next step.
If they end up leaving because of that growth, well—
You did your job.
Let Them Leave With Dignity
How you handle someone leaving says a lot about what kind of leader you are.
No “wow, I guess we weren’t good enough for you.”
No passive-aggressive comments.
No making their final weeks uncomfortable just because you’re disappointed they’re going.
Celebrate what they accomplished while they were on your team.
Help make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved.
And let them leave on a good note.
That’s the version of you they’ll remember.
And trust me, people remember how their last few weeks felt.
Stay Connected When They Go
Just because someone leaves your team doesn’t mean the relationship is over. In fact, I just spoke with one of my former mentees yesterday. It was just a quick check-in, but the relationship is still there even after more than two years of not working together.
And my mentors still check in with me, too. The people who wrote letters of recommendation for me or gave me LinkedIn referrals are still the same people willing and eager to support me in my career today.
That’s the thing about mentorship. It doesn’t end just because someone changes jobs.
Some of the strongest professional relationships I have now are with people who used to report to me.
We still check in.
We celebrate each other’s wins.
And sometimes our paths cross again in ways none of us expected.
Former team members often become part of your professional network in ways you can’t predict.
And honestly? That might be one of the best parts of leadership.
Why Losing People Hurts When You’re a Coach
If you’re someone who takes mentoring seriously, losing people can sting.
If you’re lucky, they’re just moving up or transferring to another department within the company. That softens the blow a little. Not that it has ever stopped me from giving those other leaders a hard time for “stealing” my best people.
You pour time, energy, and a lot of heart into helping someone grow.
You see their potential.
You help them build their skills.
You watch them gain confidence.
And then one day, they walk into your office and tell you they’re leaving.
It’s normal for that to feel personal.
But here’s the truth:
If they’re ready to move on, chances are you did your job right.
The Mentorship Paradox
Good mentorship prepares people so they no longer need you.
If everyone sticks around forever, that might actually be a red flag.
Either nobody is growing… or nobody thinks they can do better.
It could mean people are comfortable but not growing.
Or worse — they don’t believe they could do better somewhere else.
Or maybe you’re accidentally keeping them in place instead of helping them grow.
Healthy teams have some turnover.
Growth naturally pushes people into new opportunities.
That’s not failure.
That’s movement. That’s progress.
From Customer Lightbulbs to Leader Lightbulbs
Anyone who’s worked in support knows the joy of a customer lightbulb moment.
You explain something, and suddenly they say:
“Oh! I see how this works now.”
Those moments are great.
But those lightbulb moments with your team? Even better.
The moment someone realizes:
“Oh… I can actually do this.”
“I’m ready for more.”
You’re not just solving a problem anymore.
You’re helping someone build a career.
And those moments? They stick with you a lot longer.
Zero Turnover Isn’t Always a Flex
A team with zero turnover might look impressive from the outside.
But it’s not always a good thing.
It could mean people are comfortable but not growing.
It could mean they don’t think they can do better elsewhere.
Or maybe they’re just not being challenged enough.
Healthy teams grow.
And sometimes, growth means people move on.
The Leaders You Remember
The leaders I respect most aren’t the ones who kept the same team together forever.
They’re the ones whose former team members still speak highly of them years later.
They built people, not just teams.
They’re proud of where their people went next.
That kind of leadership leaves a mark that lasts way longer than any org chart.
The Mentorship ROI You Don’t Expect
When you really invest in people, something interesting happens.
Your network grows.
Former team members become colleagues, connectors, and sometimes even hiring managers themselves.
They remember how you treated them.
They remember what they learned from you.
They remember who helped them get there.
And every person who leaves? They teach you something new about leadership, too.
You get better at spotting potential.
Better at developing people.
Better at investing in growth without getting too attached to the outcome.
What Success Actually Looks Like
Success in leadership isn’t about keeping everyone on your team forever.
Success is building a team people are proud to have been part of—even after they’ve moved on.
Those lightbulb moments don’t stop just because someone walks out the door.
They take what they learned with them.
And then they go light up somewhere else.
And honestly?
That’s exactly what you were supposed to help them do.
The goal of great leadership isn’t to be irreplaceable.
It’s to build people who are. 💜
