How do you secure your leadership legacy? Know when to quit

As many of you know, I am a fierce advocate for older people. I get very annoyed at the casual disrespect we have to endure. Negative labels, assumptions that we are incompetent, and expectations that we should just fade away into the sunset and leave the world to younger people are three examples of that disrespect. 

When people say to me, “Oh, you look so young!” I know they mean it as a compliment. It’s not though. It’s ageism, even if inadvertent, wrapped in flattery. Just say, “You look great!” and leave it at that.

Discrimination is real, and so are diminishing abilities

The “young” comment is a minor problem. The much bigger problem is workplace discrimination—the assumption that an older person cannot perform a job as well as a younger person and therefore should not be hired or promoted or retained. There are certainly jobs where age plays a major role in performance, such as jobs that require considerable physical strength or speed. But most jobs in the world of business rely on brain power. There are brilliant old people and stupid ones, and the same is true of young people. 

I advocate for a world in which older people are treated with the same respect and given the same opportunities as younger people. But there is another aspect of aging that we must face honestly. At some point, for some people, their intellectual faculties diminish as they age. Sometimes this is drastic, as in cases of advanced Alzheimer's disease. Sometimes it is subtle: difficulty recalling a word, a loss of numerical facility, or losing track of why one walked into the next room.

Stepping away at the right time

It is excruciatingly difficult, when you have been a highly accomplished contributor, to admit that it’s time to step back. It is very painful when others tell you that you no longer function at the necessary level for your role. But just as younger people should give their elders the respect they deserve, so must older people face up to reality when their abilities are no longer up to the task.

This is a hard loss. But recognizing when it’s time to leave the stage is the final step in a magnificent career. It’s about thinking about what is best for others and for the organization and mentoring others to take your place.

In general, self-awareness is a critically important part of effective leadership. Knowing when it’s time to go is the last step in that process.

If you’d like to talk more about stages of leadership and what it takes to be an effective leader, reach out at ggolden@gailgoldenconsulting.com.