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Time to Quit? Learn From Prime Ministers, Popes and Players
It’s easier to deny your time is up than accept it's time to move on.
Updated July 22, 2024 Reviewed by Tyler Woods
Key points
- We often acquire new roles without knowing whether we can succeed or not.
- Smart individuals acknowledge a bad fit early. Others cling on and cause widespread damage.
- Know when it’s time to quit - learn from a Pope, Prime Minister and Grand Slam players.
Are you in too deep? Are you making things better or worse? Do your stakeholders lack confidence? When politicians, CEOs, or football managers lose the locker room, it’s time to quit. Yet many desperately cling on.
Clinging to power never ends well. “I’m a fighter, not a quitter,” former British Prime Minister Liz Truss fatefully told her jeering peers. A day later, she quit, becoming the shortest-serving Prime Minister in history at 44 days in office.
In particular, two biases contribute to the delayed decision to quit: when you’re oblivious to unconscious incompetence in the Dunning-Kruger effect; and when you deny, reject or ignore bad news in the ostrich effect. Both interplay in a given situation combining with individual ego, overconfidence, and illusions of control.
Know your Limits
A learning curve is inevitable in any role. You may have confidently accepted a new position, become a parent, or started a novel hobby. It takes time to realize if you’re a natural—or naturally out of your depth.
When holding positions of power, some realize quickly how little they know and enter a state of chronic indecision. Others experience the reverse and enter a state of unconscious incompetence. In other words, you don’t know what you don't know. This blind spot is coined the Dunning-Kruger effect after its founders.
Having climbed the greasy pole, whether in business, sports, religion, or politics, it's hard to admit you're not up to the job. Some push on, regardless, compounding mistake after mistake in a destructive domino cascade.
It’s human to deny adverse feedback or criticism, as it’s cognitively difficult, emotionally challenging, and not what we want to hear. The ostrich effect bias prevents too many from taking corrective action. But this inaction can crater careers. Egotism contributes as roles are intrinsically tied to self-esteem and saving face.
Some quickly recognize the uphill battle and move on, even in highly-visible roles. For example, in 2013, Pope Benedict resigned from the Roman Catholic Church. While the Pontiff cited advanced age, he felt out of touch with the church's 1.2 billion members. With mindful awareness, he doubted his abilities to serve. Papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told the BBC, "The Church needed someone with more physical and spiritual energy who would be able to overcome the problems and challenges of governing the church in this ever-changing modern world." Pope Benedict was the first to relinquish power in 600 years. He knew his limits. He knew when to quit.
Know When It’s Time To Quit.
In her book, Quit, Annie Duke advocates knowing when to stick at something and when to walk away. Society teaches us never to give up. Even inventor Thomas Edison promoted perseverance. "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” After all, sticking with something is a sign of resilience. Or is it?
It’s also the product of unconscious social narrative traps. Perseverance can be a mistake. Should you stay in a toxic relationship? Quitting careers, relationships, or unhealthy situations should be celebrated rather than criticized or ridiculed.
Premier League football managers have a short shelf life, and many are fired mid-season. Multi-million dollar players get benched. HSBC’s John Flint served just 18 months as CEO. The quitting decision is tough, but we dread the humiliation of being fired, deposed, or demoted. Should you go before you’re pushed? Which will damage your reputation more—staying or going? It’s not an easy decision.
Twitter’s Jack Dorsey made the call, “I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders.” It’s better to resign with dignity rather than have others foist the decision upon you.
Reactance, regret, and resentment are predictable by-products when you don't own your own decision.
Be Decisive
Show decisiveness about the right things. On multiple occasions, Truss claimed to be decisive. That was the problem—being decisive, not consultative. When the International Monetary Fund and a U.S. President criticize your economic policies, and your tenure is mockingly compared to the lifespan of limp lettuce, you’re in serious trouble.
"I've listened; I get it," she wrote. But it was too little too late. Chosen by the Conservative party to replace Boris Johnson, they accepted their mistake and called for her to quit. Finally, there was acceptance. “I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected.” She realized her limits.
Underperformance or poor role/capability alignment results from a chain of events, experience, weak selection, and timing. Damage can be prevented with perspective-taking and objective counsel—a challenge to the narcissistic powerholder. As I’ve discussed previously, taking advice beats giving it, but few do it in time. Of course, there are exceptions.
Preserve Dignity
Athletes have a natural shelf life, but many cling to center-court glory and the sound of the roaring crowd. But not all. With a string of Grand Slam titles under their belts, tennis supremos Roger Federer and Serena Williams accepted their physical limitations and retired with dignity. Exiting on a high, they accepted the passing of peak performance. Williams now role models how to retire smartly, pre-planning and curating a new identity.
There’s no shame in quitting. In fact, it’s becoming a trend and almost trendy in the Great Resignation era. So far this year, nineteen FTSE 100 CEOs announced their intention to resign, including those at Shell, Unilever, Rolls Royce, Hargreaves Lansdowne, and Reckitt Benckiser. There’s nothing quiet about this level of quitting.
When leaders fail, it's humiliating. But the greater tragedy is when others pay the price: customers, employees, shareholders, and citizens. We can learn much about quitting from professional athletes' dignified departure, to a Pope’s foresight, and even a Prime Minister’s lack of foresight.
You've done your time, so know when it’s time—not just for you but for the benefit of those around you.
