Leadership Relevance: What's Your Expiration Date?

"Learning is about more than simply acquiring new knowledge and insights; it is also crucial to unlearn old knowledge that has outlived its relevance. Thus, forgetting is probably at least as important as learning.” - Gary Ryan Blair

As consumers we pay great attention to the expiration date on a perishable item – imagine drinking milk two weeks past the "best if used by XX" date.  Leadership skills can also be perishable and we run the risk of becoming irrelevant and ultimately ignored.  The good news is remaining relevant is our decision and within our control.

Relevance is about being in the moment and connected to what is happening around you.  We worry about our relevance during critical career moments, particularly when we stop waiting for the “call” and our next promotion.  This realization can be our decision early or late in our career, as we are satisfied our work and personal needs are being met.  Another scenario is the organization makes the decision for you, sometimes through feedback and often in painful silence, and you watch new opportunities from the sidelines. 

These career plateau situations tap into our desire for significance.  Will I be removed from my important role and assigned “special projects”?  Can I really keep up with technology?  Are my relationship skills no longer valued?  The reality is the risk of perishable skills can occur at any age and the answer is to intentionally reinvent ourselves to sustain a meaningful career.

I recall a situation with one of my own mentors who was approaching retirement. He and I were having a candid discussion regarding my next career move.  He was an excellent teacher and had sponsored me for several promotions.  During our visit he surprised me by saying, “I am not sure I can help you moving forward – my influence is not what it used to be”.  I could hardly believe what I was hearing and left the session feeling rejected.  He encouraged me to reach out to a younger leader who was quickly moving up the corporate ladder.  In the end, his selfless advice proved to be true and he remained relevant as he reinvented our relationship from mentorship to friendship.

Three keys to keeping your leadership reputation fresh and relevant:

Credibility
Experience is a wonderful asset and needs to be nurtured through continuous learning.  Stay current on the changes underway and reinvest in your strengths – we get stronger through resistance not relaxing.  Remaining relevant involves projecting confidence to others through what you know and how well you deliver.

Energy
Invest in your physical and mental well-being.  The pace of the workplace continues to increase and your capacity will be tested.    Develop a regular exercise plan and energize your learning process through new material and relationships.  Energy drives initiativeand initiative drives results.

Relationships
Relationships, like products on the shelf, can get stale.  The individuals who helped you succeed will eventually move on and you will be challenged to invest in a network makeover.  These new contacts will improve your current career, future career, and serve as a resource to mentor the next generation.

Extend your leadership perishable date by regularly investing in what it takes to remain relevant – credibility, energy, and relationships.  When you are a relevant leader people want to do business with you, recommend you to others, and follow you.    

Leading Your Exit Strategy

“No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.”

- George Washington Carver 

Leading through transitions is an opportunity to excel and I frequently encourage clients to read The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins, a great resource for leaders assuming a new role.  What about your last 90 days, leaving a role or organization for a new opportunity?

The legacy you leave is your reputation – a career asset to be carefully protected.  Departing with character includes completing your obligations and maintaining key relationships moving forward.  The solution is having a clear exit strategy to benefit the organization and yourself.

I learned a painful lesson when I was brought on to replace an ambitious individual who had been recently promoted.  He had been very focused on pleasing our senior executive and he neglected his peer group.  His peers perceived him as dismissing their importance and not being a team player.  As a result, his peers were very skeptical of me and I realized my top priority was to build relationships.  My list of ideas to improve the department would have to wait.  The primary lesson I learned was a smooth transition between leaders involves working together to promote a mutually beneficial exit strategy.

Three keys to an effective exit strategy:

Finish Strong
Once you announce you are leaving, others will understand change is underway and you will be juggling multiple roles.  Identify two or three obligations you can complete by your transition date.  Your commitment will enable your leadership team to have a succession plan.  Completing these obligations gives you a sense of accomplishment, builds a positive reputation, and sustains key relationships moving forward.

Gratitude
As we leave opportunities, we realize all the individuals who have helped us along the way.  The irony is these individuals have always supported us – and sometimes their importance is finally realized when we depart.  Take the time to say thanks and be specific as to how they helped you grow.

Running Start 
A great way to promote a seamless transition is to prepare your replacement - providing a running start.  Many of us eagerly begin new roles and we are stuck in uncertainty.  You can provide a running start by sharing important job duties, people insights, and potential office politics challenges to make their first day a productive day.  Your replacement will be very appreciative and becomes a valuable member of your network.

We all want to leave opportunities in a better place than when we arrived.  Finish strong, express gratitude, and provide your replacement a running start.  Your reputation will be the wind at your back as you move forward to new opportunities.