Sunday, August 06, 2006

Knowing When To Go

A corporate leader in Singapore, Lee Hsien Yang, recently said: "Twelve years is a long time to stay in any single role and I think considerably longer than the average tenure of most CEOs. So I think it is appropriate that some point in time to move on and I suppose, in my view, it is as a good a time as any. The company is in a strong position. We have a strong management team in line, we have a board to see the process through and so I have informed the board of my desire to step down."

Someone once told me, "Every year in a role, take stock of what you have done and achieved. Benchmark yourself against others of similar calibre. Check if you have had a performance-related raise or a promotion. If you haven't for 2 years, you know it's time to move on."

Is twelve years a long time for a leader? How does a person decide when is an ideal time for him or her to leave?

I agree with Lee that a good time for a leader to leave is when a company has a strong position, management team in line and a good board of directors.

We should also actively review our roles.

Happiness,
Dharmendra Yadav

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The market is rife with rumours about this "move". There's more to it than meets the eye.