Your Best Senior People Are Leaving. You Just Haven’t Realised It Yet.
An article by John Davies, Director, Laurence Executive Search
Why salary, counteroffers and retention bonuses won’t fix a leadership problem.
I’ve spent a lot of time speaking with senior executives about why they are considering their next move.
And there is one thing that consistently stands out.
People rarely leave a senior position because of money alone.
They leave when they stop believing they can be successful where they are.
That distinction matters.
Because by the time a senior executive hands in their resignation, the real decision has often been made months earlier.
The Warning Signs Are There
It usually starts quietly.
A decision gets overturned.
An idea gets ignored.
A promise isn’t delivered.
A new layer of management appears.
Autonomy starts disappearing.
The relationship with the CEO, MD or direct manager changes.
None of these things, on their own, necessarily cause someone to leave.
But they accumulate.
And eventually, a very successful person starts asking themselves:
“Is this really where I want to spend the next five years?”
That’s the moment organisations should be worried.
Senior People Don’t Want to Be Managed. They Want to Lead.
This sounds obvious, but many organisations get it wrong.
You hire someone because of their experience.
You tell them you want them to transform the business.
You give them ambitious targets.
Then you spend the next twelve months telling them how to do their job.
That’s not leadership.
That’s frustration waiting to happen.
Senior executives want clarity around the destination — but they also want the freedom to determine how to get there.
Give them accountability without authority and eventually they’ll give you their resignation.
And Then Comes the Counteroffer
This is where things get interesting.
Someone resigns.
Suddenly, they’re extremely valuable.
The salary increases.
The title changes.
A retention bonus appears.
Promises are made.
But ask yourself:
Why did it take a resignation to recognise their value?
If the reasons they wanted to leave haven’t changed, why would a pay rise suddenly make everything different?
Sometimes it works.
Often, it simply postpones the inevitable.
Because you haven’t addressed the reason they wanted to leave.
You’ve addressed the symptom.
The Real Cost Isn’t the Salary
Losing a senior executive isn’t simply about replacing a person.
It’s the lost relationships.
The lost knowledge.
The disruption to the team.
The impact on clients.
The recruitment process.
The time it takes to get a replacement up to speed.
And perhaps most importantly, the message it sends to everyone who remains.
That’s why retention should start long before someone resigns.
So What Should Leaders Be Asking?
Not:
“How much will it cost to keep them?”
Ask:
“Are we giving them a reason to stay?”
Are they trusted?
Are they listened to?
Do they have influence?
Are they challenged?
Do they have the resources to succeed?
Do they believe the organisation has a future they want to be part of?
And perhaps the most important question:
“If they were offered their dream role tomorrow, would they hesitate to leave us?”
If the answer is no, don’t wait for the resignation.
Do something about it now.
Because your best senior people don’t usually leave for a better job.
They leave because they no longer see their future with you.
And that’s a leadership problem — not a recruitment problem.
