In today’s corporate landscape, companies face a growing challenge: the loss of strategic talent. Changes in the job market, the rise of remote work, and the priorities of a new generation of professionals have all contributed to increasing turnover rates. Losing a key talent is like losing a star player on a sports team. A striking example is Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona, one of the greatest players of all time. His presence represented far more than technical performance: Messi was a symbol of identity, culture, and leadership within the club. When he left, the team had to reorganize, redistribute responsibilities, and find ways to remain competitive. In the corporate world, losing a strategic talent causes similar impacts, but with the right strategy, it is possible to navigate the moment and ensure the team’s strength.

In the workplace, the departure of a key employee can disrupt workflows, affect team morale, and even influence how the market perceives the company. According to a Gallup report, employee turnover costs U.S. businesses approximately $1 trillion annually. During these moments, it is crucial to reflect on the reasons behind the departure and plan solutions to prevent future losses. One essential strategy in this context is knowledge management. Just as sports teams document and analyze their tactics to avoid reliance on a single player, companies can capture and disseminate the expertise of their top talent, ensuring that best practices remain alive within the organization. An inspiring case study is 3M, which implements robust programs to document and share knowledge in its innovation projects.

One of the most important lessons from Messi’s departure was the need to develop multiple talents within the team. This reinforces the importance of fostering a culture of multipliers in the corporate environment: professionals who not only perform their roles but also share their knowledge and help develop others into leaders. Companies like Google implement internal coaching programs that encourage employees to teach and develop their peers, creating an ecosystem of continuous learning. To cultivate a culture of multipliers, organizations can create structured mentorship programs, invest in project rotation initiatives that enable cross-functional learning, and promote collaborative workshops to exchange experiences.

With the growing adoption of remote work, team dynamics and talent retention strategies have been profoundly affected. Maintaining engagement and a sense of belonging in distributed teams is a constant challenge. Leading companies like GitLab have explored innovative initiatives, such as collaborative documentation and regular check-ins, to keep their teams aligned and motivated, even from afar.

Implementing these strategies, however, is not always straightforward. Resistance to change, limited resources, or initial lack of engagement are some common obstacles. To overcome them, companies can conduct internal awareness campaigns, highlighting the benefits of knowledge management programs, use clear success indicators to measure the impact of initiatives, and offer incentives and recognition to leaders who adopt and promote best practices.

Ultimately, what truly ensures the success of a company is not just the presence of individual talents but the strength of the collective. Talents come and go, but the strength of an organization lies in its ability to keep the game moving—and, most importantly, to keep winning.