Good leaders feel a deep responsibility for the team they have helped to create. Loyalty to individual team members and the team itself is top of mind when new opportunities arise.
The idea of leaving colleagues who have sacrificed for the team leader and were often recruited by them appears particularly self-serving and disloyal. So how should leaders think about their responsibilities to the organization, the team, and individual colleagues as they consider their own personal and family interests?
To be sure, good leaders don’t take such situations lightly. They must struggle through competing values to find an answer that satisfies as many conflicting interests as possible. There are no right answers. Only painful choices. True leaders value the team and its members as much as they do the opportunities presented to them.
When leaders choose to exit, their goal must be to depart as a “good leaver,” respecting the needs of the organization and team as much as their own. No matter what the offer, opportunity, or situation, leaders have an obligation to the organization and team to make sure they are in a good place before they depart.
Good leavers depart on good terms. Regardless of the official notice period, they commit the time to close the books on the past before moving on to the future. They immediately begin work on a transition plan in collaboration with other leaders in the enterprise.
That plan includes completing assignments in process, documenting and passing along critical knowledge, prepping the person who will follow them and spending the time necessary to catch them up to speed, and committing to maintaining or passing off critical relationships the organization deems appropriate.
Communicating directly with team members as to how they struggled over the decision and why they are choosing to leave is a critical step. While avoiding such conversations is easier, good leaders hold themselves accountable to explain the circumstances surrounding their departure. They refuse to bad-mouth or speak negatively about anyone or the organization, but simply explain the calculus of their decision. They don’t apologize for leaving, but instead thank people for their contribution and support.
Deciding to leave a team of loyal followers can be heart-wrenching for those leaders who truly care. Serving as a role model for how to leave is a reflection of who they are and how they will be remembered by others. Good leavers, like good leaders, are in short supply. They shouldn’t be.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
