Your Best People Don’t Need You
Great leaders don’t follow—they collaborate. Are you worth their partnership?
Let’s get real: The top talent on your team isn’t there because of you. They’re there in spite of you.
You think they’re lucky to have a seat at your table? Wrong. You’re lucky they haven’t walked out the door.
Here’s why: A-players don’t work for you—they work with you. They’re not impressed by titles, corner offices, or hollow speeches. They’re builders, hunters, and visionaries with options—endless options. So, if they’re sticking around, it’s because they see something in your vision that aligns with theirs. Lose that alignment, and you lose them.
Most leaders screw this up. They confuse compliance for commitment. They believe loyalty is owed. But loyalty isn’t given—it’s earned. And it’s fragile.
Wake up. Stop treating your top performers like cogs in the machine. They’re not your employees; they’re your partners in ambition.
Want to keep them? Build something so magnetic they can’t imagine walking away. Inspire them. Challenge them. Pay them what they are worth. Make them feel like co-creators, not pawns.
The harsh truth: Your best people don’t need you. But you’ll always need them.
Ask yourself: Would your team choose you over their other 100 options if they didn’t need the paycheck? If not, what needs to change?
What kind of leader are you when the leverage shifts?