After I retired from work, I was asked to join the Board of Trustees at a small liberal arts university where my daughter graduated. I love this college which is so different from my technical undergraduate university. It is so peaceful to walk around the small campus, designed with a traditional central grass quad anchor by a gothic stained-glass chapel. The students take diverse courses and are taught interdisciplinary skills. There are more women than men enrolled, a rare statistic in technical universities.
I was asked to join the Investment Committee (IC) and later chaired it. There were many problems to overcome to make the endowment investments achieve higher returns. Before I chaired my first IC meeting, I wrote down a long list of goals. Each year, I checked off the completed goals and slowly, the endowment returns rose.
The Board elected Trustees for three-year terms, with a twelve-year total term limit. As I entered my ninth year, I completed the last of my original goals and the endowment was achieving its financial targets. I felt that the IC needed new leadership to take the endowment to the next level. While I loved the work and the people with whom I worked, I thought it best for the organization that I retire from the Board. I informed the Board leadership early in my ninth year so the Board leadership could easily make the transition. It was sad to leave but it was the right time to exit. I left the organization in better shape and personally grew from the experience, a win-win situation.
When is the right time to step down? This decision is more art than science. A person can spend years, decades, or a career developing skills to achieve difficult goals. Once obtained, do you hold onto your power or position until you are forced to resign or retire, become incapacitated, or die? Does an athlete continue to perform after peaking and starting to decline? Does an owner of a business continue to run his or her company when younger employees or family members are ready to lead? Does an aging, long-serving politician continue to hold elected power when more energetic candidates desire to tackle urgent societal problems?
The issue of when to leave is both emotional and core to our identity. In US political polls, both parties desire term and/or age limits. It has been difficult watching 84-year-old Senator Mitch McConnell physically decline while in office, 90-year-old Senator Dianne Feinstein die in office while she had dementia, and 83-year-old Senator Bernie Sanders get re-elected in 2024 for another six-year term. Is it more important to hold power at all costs rather than leave after achieving your objectives or realizing that other talented individuals can perform equally or better?
There are some who have managed these life transitions skillfully. Eric Heiden, the American speed skater, won an unprecedented five Olympic gold medals at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. He then hung up his skates and became a professional road bike racer and competed in the 1986 Tour de France. Afterwards, he enrolled in Stanford medical school and became an orthopedic surgeon who worked with athletes. Instead of accepting many sponsorship opportunities to capitalize on his accomplishments, he said that he had enough money and desired anonymity. Heiden has a macro view of life and a humble character.
When I was trying to decide when to retire from Shell Energy, I read many publications about retirement. One showed future life expectancy based on the age a person retires. After age 55, each year of work shortens future life expectancy. I knew that the stress and long hours that I experienced in my position were not heathy, no matter how well I took care of my mental and physical health. My employer was happy for me to continue working and I worried about what my ife purpose would be post-retirement. Yet, I knew that there were capable individuals who could take over my position and I was financially able to retire. It was time.
One of the Bible’s theological themes is humility, defined as “the proper valuing of one’s self and proper love of one’s self, in contrast to pride.” Humility is the opposite of hubris, defined as “exaggerated pride or confidence — arrogance.” Humility is realizing that you are mortal and that there is something far greater than yourself. Few individuals achieve world records and even those who achieve the highest level of human performance need to recognize their mortality. It is through humility that we gain wider vision.
Scripture has many verses devoted to humility. For example:
Proverbs 22:4 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
Luke 14:11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
James 4:6 But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 3:34)
Once you take a macro view of life, stepping down becomes easier. Once you humble yourself, it becomes easier to allow others to step up. Once you give up power, you have a renewed opportunity to grow, learn, and develop new skills. The Apostle Paul said it best:
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5–8)
