Why Your Best Employees Are Quietly Quitting (And What Leaders Miss About People) | Dr. Michelle Griffin

What if the reason your high performers are burning out has nothing to do with workload—and everything to do with how they're being seen?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Michelle Griffin, PhD candidate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and founder of Griffin Resources, to talk about what's really happening in today's workplace. Michelle shares her journey from feeling undervalued in corporate HR to building her own successful consulting firm—and what she learned about leadership, worth, and people along the way.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why employees leave good jobs (hint: it's not always about money)
• The hidden cost of treating people like workers instead of humans
• How imposter syndrome shows up for high-achieving women—and what to do about it
• What younger generations actually want from work (and why it matters)
• The difference between people-focused leadership and performative leadership
• How to create psychological safety and work-life balance in high-pressure environments
• Why feeling undervalued triggers survival mode—and how that affects performance

Key moments:

• [0:00] Michelle's journey from corporate HR to entrepreneurship
• [15:19] Why people-focused leadership is non-negotiable in 2025
• [42:33] Overcoming imposter syndrome and societal pressures
• [52:44] Bridging generational gaps in the workplace

Who this episode is for:

• Leaders and managers who want to retain top talent
• HR professionals navigating organizational change
• High-achieving women dealing with imposter syndrome
• Business owners building people-first cultures
• Anyone feeling undervalued or burned out at work

Dr. Michelle Griffin is an HR strategist, PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and founder of Griffin Resources, where she helps small to mid-size organizations build sustainable people practices. Learn more at griffin-resources.com

Connect with Michelle:Website: https://griffin-resources.com

Resources mentioned:

• Free clarity call: https://insightfulessence.com/coaching
• Insightful Success community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Nvf2AeDtK/

Keywords: employee retention, leadership development, imposter syndrome, workplace burnout, people-first leadership, HR strategy, organizational psychology, work-life balance, generational differences at work, high performer burnout, quiet quitting solutions

#Leadership #HR #ImposterSyndrome #Burnout #WorkplaceCulture #PeopleFocused #EmployeeRetention #WorkLifeBalance #InsightfulSuccess