Leaving – The Cycle of Transition (and How to Leave Well)

Summary

Leaving an organization is a significant decision; sometimes it will be easy and sometimes it will be very difficult. It can also be awkward and accompanied by strong emotions. It is important to leave an organization thoughtfully, methodically, and as professionally as possible under the circumstances. Therefore, there is a need to plan thoughtfully and carefully about how you’re going to leave. Despite the effort you may put in to prepare to leave (including readying yourself for a variety of reactions), sometimes things just don’t go as smoothly as we would like or feel as good or positive as we hoped.

One key area involved in leaving an organization is how well you plan for transitioning out of your role. There are a variety of ways of transitioning, from mic dropping and sprinting in the opposite direction, to creating a collaborative and methodical transition plan that you assist in executing. In this blog we’ll work through the principles and practices of leaving an organization and will discuss some key facets of transitioning from or to a role.

Background

As I’ve traversed the workforce throughout my 30+ year career spanning multiple industries and two different countries / continents, I’ve accumulated a reasonable amount of experience in leaving organizations. In the earlier days I really didn’t think about the parameters, process, emotional impact, required investment, and how to do it to make the experience as appropriate and easy on all parties concerned. It’s mostly now that I have a body of experiential information to look back on that I can truly reflect on how important it is to get it right, the implications of getting it wrong, and the surrounding factors that could and should be considered when building into the process of leaving.

For context, in this blog I’ll be writing primarily about the art and science behind the process of leaving an organization in which you’ve performed a contributory role, and from which you are now deciding it is the time to move on to something else. Similar principles discussed here could be applied to leaving a relationship, but the focus here is more professional than personal.

Figure Out Why You Want to Leave

There are several reasons why you could leave an organization. Important Note: You might not be leaving the organization entirely; it could be that you are staying within the same organization and moving teams / departments / business units. Potential reasons to leave:

• You’ve outgrown your existing position and need to move elsewhere to fulfil your career needs
• Circumstances have developed where your enjoyment or fulfilment from your existing role has materially changed, not for the better, and for the sake of your own mental fitness you’d rather be elsewhere
• Changing organizational or industry conditions have come in to play, making the exit door seem more strategically palatable than sticking around for whatever changes are around the corner
• The company values no longer align with your core values
• Leadership and / or team changes have impacted the culture, atmosphere, tone, or other parameters that are meaningful to you
• Personal circumstances have emerged that dictate that a life change is required (e.g., you’re retiring, health issues become a factor, physical limitations are impacting your ability to fulfil the role, etc.)
• An urgent need has emerged in another area that requires an immediate response, leading to a secondment or some other such arrangement
• You’re “invited to leave” the organization due to downsizing, redundancies, changing organizational strategies modify the need for your skill set, etc.

The reasons for leaving will impact the process, timing, and experience of how you leave the organization, therefore a degree of flexibility is required to be able to navigate the potential changing conditions directly related to the circumstances.

Now, I want to acknowledge an important point: in my experience, leaving is awkward. Despite the effort you may have put in to prepare for leaving, including readying yourself for a variety of reactions, sometimes things just don’t go as smoothly as we would like or feel as good or positive as we hoped. Pendulum reactions could present themselves, which will take time and effort to navigate. A lot of this is outside of your control but prepping yourself for as many realistic reactions and outcomes is a solid plan to ensure you avoid getting bogged down in negativity and bad behaviour.

Irrespective of the reasons for leaving, there can be at play a wide range of thoughts and feelings associated with the pending change. Once you begin your decision-making process it is around this time that supplementary thoughts and emotions may present themselves that can weigh heavy on your heart and head – whether it be the solid friendships built up with colleagues that you’re leaving behind, or the vendors or customers you interact with, or even simply the life events that have occurred during your tenure. There is typically a hook of some description that, at best, you can acknowledge and begin the process as to how you feel and what you’re going to do about it, or at worst, that may start to eat at you and impair your judgement. You may begin to second guess your rationale for leaving or allow yourself to be distracted by nostalgia. The good news is that this is valuable information to have, as early as possible in the process, to allow you to acknowledge the data and build into how you’re going to address the thoughts, feelings and emotions surrounding them. Some common emotions that you may experience working through the leaving process:

• Excitement: The opportunity to pursue new career paths can help you look forward to whatever beneficial new circumstances you’ll enjoy with genuine excitement
• Relief: If you have been unhappy in your job, leaving can bring a sense of relief and feel like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders
• Nervousness: The unknown can cause anxiety. Will I fit in, what are my new colleagues really like, is this new role as good as I think or hope it’s going to be?
• Sadness: Leaving anyplace where you’ve spent a significant amount of time can create a sad emotional reaction
• Guilt: You may feel guilty about leaving the organization, your colleagues, or perhaps leaving unfinished work

While it is completely valid and normal to feel some or all these emotions, it is also important to recognize that everyone will move on at some point and it is your right to do what is right for you to be the best you. Taking the time to prepare for what you might feel will help ease some angst during the process and will help you establish that you are making the correct decision for you.

5 Tips to Leaving Well

Leaving an organization is a significant decision. It is important to do it as thoughtfully, methodically, and professionally as is possible under the circumstances to ensure you leave on as good terms as you can and maintain positive relationships with your former organization and colleagues. Giving your soon-to-be ex-colleagues a piece of mind and / or the middle finger on the way out the door doesn’t truly serve you in the moment and could lead to serious potential consequences for you sometime down the road. Hence the need to plan thoughtfully and carefully about how you’re going to follow the process. There are several important parameters to consider when leaving an organization; some dictated by the organizational policies and procedures, and some borne from your own core values, wants, and needs. Below are some examples of key areas to consider:

1. Be professional: When resigning, it is extremely important to be professional at all times. Consider how you would like an employee of yours to resign – this could be a solid reference point for how you want to behave
2. Give adequate notice: Ensure you give the required notice by your company’s policy. Depending upon your role in the organization and the relationships you have built, it may be possible to give more notice to aid everyone to transition as well as possible
3. Offer help with the transition: Let the organization know that you are willing to help with the transition to a new team member. In some organizations I have left, I create a summary sheet with the required information that I would appreciate if I was walking into the role
4. Manage expectations
   1. Complete your work: Bring to conclusion any outstanding work and tie up any loose ends before you leave
   2. Don’t over-promise: Be realistic about what you can and can’t achieve prior to leaving. An intent to leave should not manifest into putting in a superhuman effort, working all hours under the sun, and exhausting yourself in your final weeks or days
5. Say goodbye: In whatever format you can, take the time to say goodbye to your colleagues and thank them for their support during your time at the organization. Be specific in your thanks or praise and try not to use this as an opportunity to settle scores. Saying goodbye can be done via a variety of media or interactions (e.g., in person, over the phone, or via email)

Transitioning

One key area involved in leaving an organization is how well you plan for transitioning out of your role. There are a variety of ways of transitioning, from mic dropping and sprinting in the opposite direction, working to rule, sabotaging the organization, through to creating a collaborative and methodical transition plan that you assist in executing.

At some point in our careers, we will likely be in a position of taking over a role that someone else previously occupied. Take a moment to consider how that transition was managed:

• What, if any, steps were taken by your predecessor to ensure you were set up for success?
• Would you have managed things differently had you been the person vacating the role?
• Have you found yourself spending a lot of time thinking about what did or did not get transitioned, rather than concentrating on delivering your new role?

If you had a positive experience when transitioning into a new role, you would be well served to heed the parameters around the experience and attempt to replicate as much of this as you transition out of your role. Similarly, if you had a bad experience when taking over a position then use as much as you can of the experience to do your utmost to never pay forward the same experience. Build into consistently considering and planning for what life will look like when you eventually move on to other adventures, so if it were to happen quicker than intended, you won’t be caught completely unprepared. I like to call this the cycle of transition.

Benefits of leaving well:

• Increased positive reputation
• Strong professional references
• Expanded career prospects in future
• Relationships will be preserved / enhanced
• It feels good

Consequences of leaving badly:

• Reputational damage
• No or misrepresented professional references
• Limited career prospects in future
• Broken relationships / burnt bridges
• Legal action
• It doesn’t feel so good

Whatever way your transition in or out of an organization is handled, it will be your attitude and approach to it that will ultimately determine the success (for you and / or your successor). You don’t want to be bogged down by the past and you DO want to hit the ground running in your new role. Consider how you can help facilitate that for successors to your current role.

I’m always open to a conversation on your thoughts, opinions, and experiences on this or any topic in the library. Get in touch by subscribing below, or by using the form on the Book Gary of the site.