Source: C. Simpson
Plenty of leaders point to an open door, a caring one-on-one, and a policy that says people can come to them with anything.
But none of that tells you what happens when someone is genuinely struggling.
What someone experiences when things go wrong tells you more about your support
than anything you say when things are going fine.
A lot of leaders never find this out until it is too late.
So here is what that looks like, so you can spot it in your own team before it costs you someone good:
1️⃣ You say your door is always open.
→ But people only come to you with good news.
→ You have built a culture where problems get hidden until they are too big to fix easily.
2️⃣ You say people can come to you with anything.
→ But the last person who did got told to figure it out themselves.
→ You have taught your team that asking for help costs more than it is worth.
3️⃣ You say work-life balance matters.
→ But you answer emails at 1 am and reply fastest to whoever works the latest.
→ You have shown your team that visibility matters more than boundaries.
The gap between what you say and what your team experiences day to day
is the truest measure of how supported they feel.
Close that gap, and everything changes.
Because a lot of retention problems come down to people feeling alone in the workload, instead of the workload itself.
To genuinely support your team, provide:
✅ Someone who notices before they have to ask.
✅ Permission to say "I'm behind" without it costing them.
✅ Coverage when life happens, instead of just when it is convenient.
✅ A leader who has their back before they need to ask for it.
✅ Feedback that helps them grow and challenge their thinking.
✅ Time protected, as well as time offered.
Get that right, and people stop looking for the exit and start staying on purpose.