There was one notable high profile resignation in the press recently – that of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
But is it right to try and cling onto leadership when the chips are down?
First, some basic rules, etiquette to maintain the best possible exit image:
- Choose your timing: leaving just as the team prepares for the busiest period of the year and, from their viewpoint, you’ve left them in lurch. Give the boss and the team plenty of notice of departure.
- Leave in position of strength: i.e. finishing projects and tackling issues that highlight your qualities, demonstrate your effectiveness and allow you to leave bathed in warm glow if not a blaze of glory.
- Be honest but tactful: When asked about your reasons for leaving; instead of saying ‘my boss is impossible’, try, ‘I’m leaving for a more supportive environment’ or ‘I’m taking a position with more structured mentoring and developmental opportunities’
- Prepare the ground: offer to recruit and train successor, leave written records of work, contacts, and any protocols; stay accessible to the team.
Use your departure address to staff to cast your legacy in the best possible light. Some tactics:
- Talk person-to-person: People expect to feel close to leaders; they don’t want high-minded rhetoric; when saying goodbye to staff, make language real, conversational; talk as you would to a friend
- Don’t ignore the failures: Few leaders enjoy unmitigated success; but omitting all reference to what went wrong on your watch, paradoxically, enlarges the omission in people’s minds; acknowledge mistakes, disappointments; be careful though not to dwell on them; highlight learning, positive outcomes.
- Encourage people to see the larger picture: Get them to step back, to assess your complete legacy; remind them of how things were when you took over; outline all your successes, underline their significance.
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