Why Your High Potentials Leave (And What to Do About It)
- Richard Nugent
- Apr 29
- 2 min read
You spot the signs before they say a word.
A high-potential leader who’s been on your radar for years starts to disengage.
They’re still delivering, still showing up, but the spark has dimmed.
A few months later, you hear they’ve taken a role elsewhere.
A role you know they could have grown into here, if only things had been different.
You're not alone.
One of the most common frustrations we hear from CHROs and Heads of Talent is this:
“We invest in our top talent, but we’re still losing some of the best people.”
Consider this: many high-potential leaders leave not because they’re unhappy… but because they don’t see a path that excites them.
They feel stuck between what they’ve outgrown and what they haven’t yet been offered.
So, what do they want?
They want the same thing your business needs:
To become more strategic.
To grow beyond technical expertise.
To lead others through uncertainty with confidence and clarity.
And most importantly, they want to be seen.
Not just as someone who gets things done, but also as someone capable of shaping the future of the business.
What keeps them?
They want development experiences that do more than develop skills.
They want development programmes that demonstrate they matter.
They want development programmes that connect their growth to real business impact.
They want a development programme that gives them to best possible opportunity to take the next step in their career.
At TwentyOne Leadership, we design leadership development experiences that speak directly to this moment in their career.
They’re not off-the-shelf. They’re not fluffy. And they’re not about ticking boxes.
Our programmes are:
Tailored to your organisation’s culture, goals and commercial context
Built around strategic projects that deliver tangible value (many pay for themselves in one cycle)
Delivered in a way your people look forward to (our clients tell us we’re the most engaging leadership developers they’ve ever worked with)
Because when you get it right, your top talent doesn’t leave.
They grow.
They step up.
And they become the future of your business.
Let's talk about keeping your best people.
If you're ready to turn potential into performance and performance into long-term impact, let's start a conversation.