A few years ago, I joined a mid-sized, family-run business as Head of HR. On the surface, everything seemed perfect: salaries were on time, the culture was warm, and the promoters were genuinely well-meaning. Yet, people kept leaving, Growth was stagnant And Morale? Quietly slipping.
As someone new to the system, I was puzzled – ❝We’re doing everything right—why are our best people leaving?❞
The answer didn’t lie in how we treat people—but in what we avoided.
Digging deeper, I found the senior leadership had become protectors, not performers. Difficult conversations were avoided, underperformers retained, and loyalty trumped merit.
Meanwhile, high performers—those with drive and ideas—felt blocked. Some were even labelled “not team players” and left ( or Made to leave may be due to insecurity to leadership).
Ironically, these same people went on to thrive in their next organizations.
This brought to mind a timeless sutra from Arthashastra:
“सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः। धर्मस्य मूलं अर्थः। अर्थस्य मूलं राज्यम्।”
“Happiness stems from ethics. Ethics from resources. Resources from governance.”
The business had ethics (धर्म), but lacked systems (अर्थ) and governance (राज्यम्). Without all three, performance stalls.
A question for every leader:
If you’re wondering why your good people leave despite your good intentions—pause and ask:
- Are we nurturing potential—or just protecting positions?
- Are our values enabling growth—or avoiding accountability?
Let’s make good intentions work better— With structure, with systems, and with strategy. Because culture should enable growth, not escape from it.
