What Kind of Leader Are You When Your Best People Leave?

Letting go of someone on your team—especially when they’ve been a strong contributor—is never easy. Whether it’s due to restructuring, budget cuts, or strategic shifts, sometimes even the most valuable team members are impacted.

And while we often train leaders to retain talent, few are ever taught how to lead through departures.

This week in Fit to Lead, we explore what real leadership looks like in those moments:

• When someone is unexpectedly impacted.

• When the remaining team looks to you for clarity.

• When the way you handle a goodbye defines trust for years to come.

Why This Matters

Leadership isn't just about driving performance. It's about how you show up when things get hard.

There are 3 key areas where leaders must prepare:

1. Knowing how to deliver the news.
   Words matter. Timing matters. Respect matters.

2. Being present in the moment.
   A departure may feel like a transaction to the org—but it’s personal to the person. Treat it that way.

3. Recalibrating the team.
   After someone leaves, people feel confused, vulnerable, and unsure about what’s next.

When you handle exits with care and strategy:

• ✅ You protect morale.

• ✅ You maintain trust with the team.

• ✅ You preserve relationships that may return in future forms (boomerang employees, referrals, allies).

In short, you keep the human in human resources—and the strategy in leadership.

This is what high-performing cultures are built on. Not louder meetings or tighter deadlines—but real understanding and alignment.

Common Challenges

Here’s where most leaders go wrong:

1. They rush the conversation.
   They fear discomfort and speed through the message—leaving the other person stunned and unsupported.

2. They don’t prepare.
   They go in with no script, no empathy-driven structure, and no time to stay present after delivering the news.

3. They ghost the rest of the team.
   They avoid communicating transparently with those who stay, which fuels uncertainty and anxiety.

4. They treat people like checkboxes.
   By following a script without compassion, they turn real people into HR tasks.

5. They skip the recalibration.
   No update, no plan, no next step. Just a hole in the team where someone used to be.

Try This Instead

Use this 3-phase framework to lead well through exits:

1. Prepare the Conversation

• Write down what you’ll say. Practice saying it with compassion.

• Avoid vague phrases like “this was a tough decision”—be clear but human.

• Choose a private, uninterrupted setting. Let the person respond in their own time.

2. Stay Present

• Allow silence. Acknowledge emotion. Offer next steps clearly.

• Validate the person’s contribution: “You’ve made a real impact here.”

• Avoid defensiveness or over-explaining. Let dignity lead.

3. Lead the Team Forward

• Communicate the change honestly to the remaining team.

• Celebrate the person’s work—without minimizing the situation.

• Clarify how priorities, roles, or structures are adjusting. Don’t leave people guessing.

This isn’t about sugarcoating. It’s about leading with humanity, precision, and clarity.

Departures test leadership just as much as milestones do.

If you want to build trust that lasts beyond titles and teams, invest in learning how to lead through transitions.
Because your leadership is measured not just by who stays—but by how you show up when someone has to go.

Choose one area this week: prepare a communication plan, draft a transition update, or coach a manager through an upcoming exit.

And if you're ready to strengthen this skill across your leadership team—I can help.

You don’t have to do this alone. Because leaders who are Fit to Lead lead all moments well.