When "Figure It Out" Becomes "I'm Out"!

There's a phrase that echoes through countless offices: "Just figure it out." On the surface, it sounds empowering—a vote of confidence in your team's abilities. But there's a tipping point where empowerment transforms into abandonment, and your best people start figuring out their exit strategy instead.

Watch what happens when someone repeatedly hears "figure it out": They begin energized by the autonomy, feeling trusted and proud. But months later, when questions arise that Google can't answer and they need real guidance, "figure it out" starts to feel less like empowerment and more like being set adrift. Eventually, they figure something out, all right—that their growth matters more than their current role, and if the company won't invest in it, they'll find one that will.

The most capable professionals still need guidance, support, and investment in their growth. When leaders consistently default to "figure it out" as their primary development strategy, they're not building resilience—they're building resentment. And in today's talent market, the companies that figure out how to develop their people are the ones that get to keep them.

Read the full article to discover:

• The real costs when talented employees leave

• How to create "structured autonomy" that develops rather than abandons

• Specific strategies for building a development culture that retains top talent

• Questions every leader should ask themselves about their development approach

Because when your people grow, your business grows—and everyone figures out they're exactly where they want to be.