The Ineffectiveness of Leadership in Perpetuity; An essay on Knowing when to Let Go and let Others Lead By Dr. John Betterson Jr.

It’s been 150 years, and as the leader of your organization you’ve managed to survive several world wars, 28 U.S. Presidents, the moon landing, the civil rights movement, the birth of the internet, Fax machines, Facebook, and Uber. And at every turn of these sweeping societal changes you’ve been at the helm of leadership. Under your watch, the organization has seen several iterations of its brand, and you’ve had the privilege of onboarding decades of fresh new followers, generation after generation. Recently, your organization has decided to outfit an entire leadership wing in your honor, complete with all the furnishings and placards dedicated to you and your accomplishments since the company’s inception. As if that wasn’t enough fanfare, you put in a request to have a gold plate designed for your office front door that reads “leadership now, leadership forever. Long live the King”!

Now this is obviously an exaggerated fictitious account meant to be humorous, but how many situations have we faced, or cases have we read about where leaders of organizations are in positions of authority well beyond what “we” would consider to be a reasonable time to serve as the leader? Of course, most of us do not get the option or luxury of choosing our leaders at work, and to suggest such an idea would probably be hard to imagine. Or would it? I digress…Regardless of how one’s tenure to lead is determined, it is reasonable to assume that they will not go on leading forever. Much like the stagnation of still water without the stream of renewal from a nearby river, I submit to you that leaders can become stagnate if left to serve in the same position of authority too long without relief or a hand-off. The inability of a leader to lay down power and step away from authority can signal certain doom for the organization and people they lead. Eagle’s Flight leadership consulting cites a 2015 report furnished by the Brandon Hall group which suggests that 36 percent of organizations believe their leadership development practices are below average or poor; about 50 percent of organizations said their leaders are not skilled to effectively lead, and 71 percent said their leaders are not ready to lead their organizations into the future. If this is true, then not only are followers subject to poorly equipped and ineffective leaders, but these same leaders, in many cases, have been in place for a very long time with no plans of moving on or being replaced. This paints a very grim picture. With such a high number of companies saying that their leaders are ill equipped to lead them into the future, leading in perpetuity proves to be counter-productive and detrimental to the overall health and success of the organization. The best leaders are those who know when to call it quits! Eventually, passions may fade and skill-sets, if not improved upon, diminish. Knowing when you’ve reached the end of yourself as a leader, is crucial to the development and survival of others who endeavor to come from behind, take the baton, and move the organization another inch forward.

In life, nothing lasts forever, and this is also true for leaders as well. Kingdoms come and go, championship teams have their seasons, and in the same way when the stars are aligned just right, making it possible for everyone at some point to have their day in the sun, so it is with leaders too. Leadership should be looked upon and treated as a window of opportunity, not a life-long appointment. To borrow from the lyrics penned by the music group “The Byrds” who popularized an ancient biblical text, I submit the following: to everything turn, turn, turn, there is a season turn, turn, turn…A time to be born, A time to die, A time to plant, A time to reap, and for the purposes of this essay A time to lead and A time to step way.

To all leaders who plan to lead in perpetuity, consider this challenge for the good of the organization in the exact order given. Lead, follow, and when it is all said and done, step aside and make room for others.