Why So Many High Potentials Are Quietly Opting Out
Across industries, companies are seeing an unsettling pattern: Their high potential programs are full. But their top talent? Disengaging. Quietly opting out. In some cases, leaving.
And it’s leaving leaders puzzled.
"We invested so much. Why aren’t they staying? Why aren’t they thriving?"
The answer is uncomfortable but clear: many organizations are getting fundamental things wrong about how they identify, develop, and engage high potentials today. And the disconnect is causing precisely the people they most want to keep to slip away.
The Wrong Definitions Are Leading to the Wrong Investments
One of the root problems is definitional. Many companies still equate high performance with high potential. They assume that if someone excels in their current role, they must be a candidate for leadership or scaled impact.
But this simply isn’t true, especially now.
Not every star performer wants to manage people. Not every top contributor is energized by the kinds of roles the HiPo pipeline tends to prioritize.
When organizations push talent into leadership tracks that don’t fit, the results are predictable: burnout, disengagement, and ultimately exit.
The first step is clearer distinction: Who truly has potential and desire to scale their impact in ways the business needs? And who is already performing at an elite level in their current domain and should be valued there?
Development That’s Too Generic to Matter
Another reason high potentials opt out is that the development offered feels generic and disconnected from their real ambitions.
Many HiPo programs rely on standard-issue leadership models: workshops, classroom modules, and coaching cohorts. These can be helpful, but they’re rarely the primary drivers of engagement for today’s top talent.
What high potentials want is more personal and more practical:
They want stretch opportunities that actually matter. They want mentors and sponsors who can help open real doors. They want to work on challenges that excite them, not theoretical case studies.
When HiPo development feels cookie-cutter, the message to top talent is clear: You are one of many, not someone we truly know and value. And that message drives disengagement.
A Mismatch Between What the Program Offers and What Top Talent Values Today
Perhaps the most profound shift is this: many high potentials today do not define career success the same way leadership once did.
Linear advancement, positional authority, big titles, these don’t motivate as universally as they once did. Flexibility, purpose alignment, skill-building, and the ability to craft a unique career path, matter more.
When HiPo programs send the signal “Here’s the path we’ve built for you, follow it”, many of today’s top talent quietly opt out. Not because they lack ambition but because the offered path doesn’t fit how they now think about growth, work, and life.
Reframing the Opportunity
Organizations that want to truly engage and retain their high potentials need to rethink both the purpose and the experience of their programs.
The focus should shift from promoting individuals into a narrow leadership track to cultivating a diverse ecosystem of top talent where individuals can see multiple paths to grow, contribute, and be recognized.
The development offered must feel personal, meaningful, and connected to what that individual values, not just what the organization has always assumed is the right way to advance.
And leaders need to engage in deeper listening: understanding how top talent’s motivations are evolving, and designing talent experiences that reflect those changes.
The opportunity is still there. But it requires letting go of outdated assumptions and building something better aligned to what high potentials actually want from their careers today.
Cultivate empowers organizations to not just adapt to change, but to lead in shaping the future of work. Let us help you build a thriving culture now — send us a message.
