Why Your Best People Are Leaving—And It’s Your Fault

Your top performers aren’t leaving because they couldn’t hack it. They’re leaving because you treated their excellence like infinite capacity. According to Deloitte, 77% of U.S. professionals have experienced burnout in their current job, and over half say they've left a role because of it. (Deloitte, 2024)

In too many workplaces, high performance becomes a trap—not a ticket to growth. The people who deliver consistently, solve the hard problems, and carry the extra weight are rewarded with… more weight. More deadlines. More “just this once” emergencies. Over time, the recognition fades, but the demands keep stacking. It’s not weakness that drives them out—it’s exhaustion from being treated as a resource to be depleted rather than a person to be developed.

"High performers can be 400%–800% more productive than average employees, yet they are often the most overlooked and overburdened in the workplace. Over-reliance on these individuals without balancing support and recognition is one of the fastest ways to drive them out the door." (Harvard Business Review, 2024)

Performance punishment doesn’t announce itself—it creeps in disguised as trust, opportunity, or a compliment, until your best people realize they’re carrying more than their share while standing still. They're the employee who gets extra work because "they can handle it." Or the "go-to fixer" who becomes the dumping ground for broken processes, urgent fires, or underperforming colleagues.

Why It Happens (Even If You Mean Well)

We've all been guilty at one point or another at inflicting performance punishment. But understanding why we have rewarded their competence with chaos? That's empowerment.

Performance punishment happens because we go on autopilot and default to the reliable person out of urgency. We forget that we may have a multitude of team members who are capable because we have our "go to" fixer to solve anything and everything. Sometimes we have lower performers and instead of having the hard conversations lean on our high performers. Unfortunately, many times we confuse silence for satisfaction. If they aren't complaining, they must be fine... right?

You've given them more work not more support.

The Impact You Don't See, Until They're Gone

When your best people leave, it's rarely about the pay. They have been suffering for some time and have burnout masked as high-functioning perfectionism and resentment that started out slow at first but them starting to build alarmingly fast. You may have noticed them quiet quitting, some level of disengagement, or hearing exit interviews full of "I just needed a new challenge."

They feel used instead of valued.

"66% of employees reported experiencing job burnout in 2025..." (Forbes, 2025)

In fact, Millennials report burnout at 66% the rate, significantly higher than Gen X (55%) or Baby Boomers (39%), showing younger high performers are especially at risk. (Aflac, 2024)

That's a staggering statistic, two-thirds of workforce is battling burnout. Imaging how that pressure falls on our top performers, the ones we're already leaning on.

What to Do Instead (Fix It Before They Go)

Before losing our top talent, we need to pause and redistribute the load. Just because our high performers can carry the load, it doesn't mean they should. At the end of the day, they are still just one person trying to make it through the day.

We should recognize, publicly and privately, the emotional labor and the results accomplished. Don't let successes go unnoticed. But don't go overboard either where it becomes disingenuous.

Remember to offer opportunity, not just recognition. Create pathways for promotions or projects they actually want to work on. Not just projects that need to get done. Keep their spark alive. This is especially necessary with younger professionals who are more at risk for burnout.

And lastly, we must ask better questions. Questions that initiate the conversation to provide care and clarity.

• Is this working for you?

• What support do you need to stay here and thrive?

• What does a challenge, look like for you?

At the end of the day, protecting our high performers isn't about coddling them, it's about leading them. The goal is to create an environment where excellence is sustainable, not sacrificial. If you want to keep your best people, make it impossible for them to imagine thriving anywhere else.

That means balancing the weight they carry with the resourcces, recognition, and respect they deserve. Because the truth is simple: you don't keep top talent by giving them more to do, you keep them by giving them more to work toward

You Get What You Reinforce

If your workplace treats excellence like a free resources, don't be shocked when the well runs dry. We can't afford to manage for convenience anymore. To lead successfully means protecting (not exploiting) our best people.

Our best people aren't burned out. They're burned by us.