SHOULD YOU STAY OR GO?
BY MICHAEL DEGROSKY
Months ago, a friend and reader asked me whether I had ever considered writing about leaders knowing when it is time to move on. I loved the idea because knowing when to step aside and let others take the leadership reins is so important, but something we don’t talk about much. Yet all leaders will, inevitably, confront occasions on which they must consider whether it is time to move on.
That conversation with my friend got me thinking about my experiences. I’m sure Wildfire readers have seen the same kinds of things I have, perhaps a beloved leader who left before people wanted him or her to, maybe a previously effective leader who stayed far longer than he or she should have. Those decisions can sometimes seem baffling, but deciding to stay or go can be very personal, very emotional, and often require leaders to weigh what is best for them and what is best for the organization. I’ve heard it said that sometimes being a good leader means knowing when to step away and let others lead. Conversely, many of us have experienced ambitious leaders hopping from post to post without producing durable results or worse, never experiencing and learning from the consequences of their decisions.
Leadership transitions can significantly influence organizational direction and have real impacts on people. For those reasons, knowing whether to move on from a leadership role and when and how, represents both an act of leadership and an essential leadership skill.
Leadership professor Benjamin Laker, writing for Forbes, discussed the benefits of making a graceful exit. I liked the idea of a graceful exit, which Laker described as a well-considered and timely departure that is beneficial for both the leader and the organization. From the perspective of the individual leader, benefits can include a positive legacy and an opportunity for change and personal development. The organization gains opportunities for fresh leadership, reinvigoration, and growth.
Other than a single study that found optimal CEO tenure to be 4.8 years, I am unaware of authoritative data on the ideal length of tenure in a leadership position. However, leaders have a life cycle and, regardless of early and mid-role effectiveness, many leaders eventually reach a point at which they have given what they can and accomplished what they could. That’s not failure, but normal, and leaders are wise to occasionally evaluate their own effectiveness, constantly monitor the feedback they inevitably receive from the people they wish to influence, and consider where they are at in that leadership life cycle. Without this introspection we, as leaders, risk the common mistakes – either leaving too soon or staying too long.
Personal circumstances that change a leader’s priorities may signal a need to move on: children are born; new interests and passions emerge; families experience joy and tragedy; leaders fall in love, get married, get divorced; interests change. Life changes our priorities and leaders with integrity will strive to know whether their changing priorities are impeding either their desire or ability to lead.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but a sense of significant accomplishment may also signal a need to step away from a current leadership role. Leading the achievement of a major milestone for the organization can, of course, motivate a person in a leadership role to do more, achieve more, take the next step, drive on. However, success can also leave a person feeling as if they have peaked and as if future accomplishments might never measure up. Should that feeling occur and persist, it might be time to start seeking a new role before a loss of interest and passion sets in.
A loss of passion for the work can lead to stagnation, which is defined as a lack of activity, growth, or development. A loss of enthusiasm and drive can prove contagious and a leader whose disinterest is spreading to others is no longer serving the organization’s best interests. Then again, leadership is hard, fatiguing work, so I am not suggesting that every time leaders are bored or hit a slow patch, they should start thinking it’s time to find the exit, it might just be time for a rejuvenating vacation. But an extended period of feeling stuck without progress or innovation might be a sign.
From time to time, leaders find that their vision does not align with that of the organization or the people above them. A meaningful disconnect between a leader’s vision and the organization’s actual direction or between leaders and their superiors would prompt smart leaders to assess whether they could still be effective in their role and whether the time to move on had arrived.
A very positive signal that the conditions are right for a leader to step away is the presence of a capable and well-prepared successor. When I retired, I did so with the confidence that my greatest achievement in that organization had been building a team of experienced, dedicated, and very capable people including my eventual successor and his eventual deputy. I can attest that when making the very difficult decision to step down from leadership, it is a great comfort to know that you are enabling other capable leaders to take the reins.
Mike DeGrosky is a student of leadership, lifelong learner, mentor and coach, sometimes writer, and recovering fire chief. He taught for the Department of Leadership Studies at Fort Hays State University for 10 years. Follow Mike via LinkedIn.