The real reason your best people leave
Your team's biggest problem isn't the strategy.
It's not the project plan, the quarterly goals, or the new software you just implemented.
It's the unspoken stress your managers are carrying into work every single day.
I once worked with a director of player development whose highly-capable team was suddenly underperforming.
They were missing deadlines, engagement was low, and key staff was thinking about quitting.
The organization thought it was a process issue and was ready to restructure the entire department.
After two confidential coaching sessions, we uncovered the real issue: this director was privately dealing with a serious family health crisis.
He was completely depleted, running on fumes, and carrying an immense emotional weight.
His team wasn't feeling a bad strategy.
They were feeling his burnout, his distraction, his anxiety.
The signals were subtle, but the team felt the shift and became insecure and unfocused as a result.
From a business perspective, this isn't a 'soft' issue.
The cost of this leader operating at 70% capacity was tangible and immediate.
It showed up in delayed player development timelines, directly impacting the talent pipeline.
It was in the high financial and knowledge cost of replacing the key staff who were ready to walk out the door.
The process issue the organization wanted to fix was just a symptom of the real, high-stakes leadership problem.
We often try to fix the business problem, when we should be supporting the human being at the center of it.
Once he got the confidential support he needed to navigate his personal stress and develop strategies for resilience, his leadership and his team’s performance transformed within 30 days.
The most impactful investment you can make in your team's performance, culture, and retention is to ensure their leader is genuinely okay.
Ready to support the leaders who support your business?
