Tomorrow is Veteran's Day and a great opportunity to thank all of the men and women who put their lives on the line so that we may enjoy our freedom. All of these brave soldiers had to follow a leader and hope that leader made good decision while in command.  I am certain there are leaders in today's military and work world that should not be leading.  Whether due to incompetency, physical or emotional issues, there comes a time to step down from the leadership role either temporarily or permanently, so as to not put others in harms way. When is this time? Great question for today's newsletter!

Great reading,

Deciding to take yourself out of a leadership role voluntarily can be one of the most difficult decisions you make in your career.  Whether your reasons are due to poor health, lack of competence or even boredom, change is difficult to initiate...especially when you don't know what you will do next. 

Let's first look at temporary removal due to physical, mental or emotional reasons.  Perhaps you are going through a divorce or you lost an important member of your family, these can be legitimate reasons to take a short leave of absence.  Here are the signs you need a break:

• Inability to concentrate on tasks that are typically easy for you
• Increased need for time away from work to handle personal issues
• Growing frustration of direct reports, co-workers or customers when projects are delayed from your personal issue(s)

What can you do during your time away that will allow you to come back fully charged?

• Use your employee assistance plan or EAP if your organization has one
• Join support groups to learn from others that are experiencing your same pain
• Seek private counseling if your organization does not offer a plan

Now let's look at when to step down permanently as a leader and look for another opportunity or even retirement:

Signs you may need to consider another option: 

• Your physical, mental and emotional health is deteriorating from the stress of  the job
• Change is happening at a pace where you do not feel you can catch up
• You do not enjoy your job anymore
• You are not branching out and networking for resources like you once did
• You are financially ready
• You have identified a talented person who needs to challenge themselves in a new role and your position would be the perfect fit

This last point is critical because your leadership will not be defined solely by what you did while a leader but also how your department or organization runs while you are gone.  In other words, your success is as much what you did as a leader but also how you prepared the organization to carry on in your absence.

"The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on. "