To Get Out You Have to Stay In

"Everything is in order, so you should be fully transitioned for close of sale in twelve months."

Hebrews 10:36

This statement sent me into immediate tears. What should have been excitement over the sale of my firm, and steps toward freedom for me left me reeling that all I could think about was not being done. I just wanted to be...done. In that moment, all I could see was what I thought was a finish line looked, to me, more like a meander through a never ending valley.

Ok, that's a bit dramatic, but when you are DONE, you are DONE. As a top level leader, we can experience this just like everyone else, but the hard part is in your seat, done doesn't look like quitting without notice, running away or simply hiding under your desk. You risk damaging an organization, a congregation, and even your own health with the damage you do to yourself in those moments of crushing failure.

I know there are many who would argue this with me, and say "you can always walk away." My not quite counterpoint to that is, you should never get to a point where you have to. As leaders, we teach others to assess themselves and diagnose strengths and weak spots, and we are constantly looking at our teams and organizations and reviewing performance for goal and vision alignment. So, of course, we are accountable for using the same system of analysis on ourselves.

In my case, I had been running fast and hard, I hadn't empowered my team well, or held culture accountable. I had allowed myself to drown by not leading from the front. So when I decided to sell, I had gotten so far down the road, my gas tank felt too empty for how much of the trip I had left.

So how do you do this better than me, the ever cautionary tale?

If you've decided it's time to move on from your current assignment (and yes, owning something you started is an assignment, not your whole identity), here are a few tips to get out well and protect the legacy you've tried to build:

1. Think legacy- When you are positioning for legacy, you go back and create stable foundations, duplicatable systems and processes, you impart as much wisdom as you can to everyone around you. Does that take more time? Yes. Does it ensure the next person saves money on their dumb taxes? Absolutely yes.

2. Find a successor- You will not find another you. Repeat after me. I will not find another me. What you can find (and hopefully promote from within) is the person who isn't you, but the person who is equipped for the next stage of the journey.

3. Stabilize everything- Branding and staffing don't need major change when you're preparing for transition. You will be the major change! Ensure HR and turnover are as stabilized as possible. If you are an owner, start to bring in a key players and select a transition team when you are ready to discuss the change. Treat it like a rollout.

4. Go hard on the offense- When positioning for change and going through it, we all get a bit of whiplash. This is no different for your organization. Think about it. If you are positioning for sale, you want to show as much value as possible for maximized sales price.

"These all sound so basic, Candice." Well, yes, but also, when you are getting excited about moving on, everything within you will want to get senioritis, coast out and move on. The more you can fight any urge to release too soon, the better you are protecting this thing you fought so hard to build and grow.

"But you just said to know when you need to get out and start moving ahead of burnout." Also, yes. Anything in scripture we see has careful timing. God's timing can feel both too fast or too slow, but we are called to listen to his voice, die to self and move carefully.

The point of everything we do is to listen and know consistently. Lean into His voice consistently. He will guide each step. He will tell you when and when not. He will also teach us the most in the times we stay in and learn- staying in the plan we started to completion, staying in our marriages when its too hard to try, staying in something difficult to finish well, can be the hardest thing you ever do. That being said, in staying in it, you learn the lessons He could use them to teach you and you find yourself at peace that you walked through everything in obedience.

If you're considering moving on, pray through, assemble a safe team to pray with you, advise you and help you look at options. In taking the time to prepare, you insulate yourself from less pain, you protect your legacy for the future, and in some cases, ensure financial provisions for your work in the future via consulting, dividends and even the equity in the brand you built lending credibility for your future work.

As someone who has walked out a departure, ten years removed, I was at a launch party for a friend's brand recently, and someone came over to me. She excitedly said "you're her." I asked "who? probably not her." She responded that she now worked for my brand, loved it and had so many questions about little fun facts like the name origin. The feeling of knowing something lives on without might possibly be the best thing in the world, so if I could tell you anything, fight through.