A Retirement Example.
This blog does not examine retirements forced by poor health or continued work due to financial constraints. What is offered here is a set of retirement rules to help people address their voluntary retirement decisions. While these can apply to many people, the parameters are designed primarily for leaders. These parameters, however, are effective only when a leader practices honest self-evaluation, which may be one of, if not the hardest, things a person does.
The idea for this blog arose because of the recent retirement of Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. The Catholic Church requires a Cardinal to offer to retire at age 75. Cardinal Dolan did this at the beginning of 2025. The Pope may or may not accept a request for retirement. In Cardinal Dolan’s case, the Pope accepted his resignation. To some, this may seem as if the Pope dislikes Cardinal Dolan. I doubt this since Dolan was one of the Cardinals who elected the current Pope.
We will never know whether the Pope felt that a change was needed, that a younger man should take over, or that someone with a different perspective was required. Alternatively, Cardinal Dolan may have wanted to retire without an extension. He did not want to stay on. If the Cardinal did want to quit, one or more of the reasons cited below may have guided him.
Strategy Development.
Retirement is a must when you no longer have a plan or do not want to develop a new one. In today’s fast-paced world, leaders should be willing to adapt quickly to change to respond to competition. Years ago, in graduate school, a professor told us that, as business leaders, we needed a good five- and ten-year plan. Today, a ten-year plan is not particularly valuable; even a five-year plan can be of little value.
Upon assuming your position, it is understood that you should have had a strategic plan in place. It was probably successful. Maybe you had subsequent plans that succeeded. However, if you have been resting on your laurels and not developing a new strategy, you need to retire. Yes, you could start a new planning process, but it is more likely that a new person who has not been coasting will bring more value.
Loss Of Interest.
A second reason to retire is that you no longer find your position energizing. Note, I did not say that you must have fun. Realistically, jobs can be grueling, tiring, wearying, and wearing. When you reach the point that these causes force you to lose interest in your position, you may have reached the point that you need to retire. This keeps you from becoming bitter and disgruntled.
Impact Of Social Change.
A third factor of concern is societal changes. Changes can happen so fast and be so dramatic that someone younger needs to lead. I have talked to many retirees who left the workplace because they could not adapt to technological changes or did not want to. Even more felt they could not deal with demographic changes, e.g., DEI, nasty attitudes between segments of society, or the need, in their minds, to cuddle employees rather than lead them.
To stay in a position, you need to respect people, the way you find them. I can remember my parents saying that my generation was not as good as theirs. Today, I hear a lot of people make the same comment about the generation behind them. No matter how society changes, there will always be some leaders who can adapt and work with any workforce. When you start to feel that the generation behind you is not good, or that you disapprove of or cannot embrace the changes taking place, retirement should be considered.
Lead A Parade.
One crucial point is that you should go while people want you to stay, or at least say they do. This may sound odd, but it is an excellent approach to addressing the retirement decision. For more than nineteen years, I served on the board of a Fortune 500 company. When I turned 70 and a half, I notified the board that I would not stand for re-election. This company had no age limit so that I could have stayed longer. The Chairman of the board graciously said I could wait another year before I retired.
I was tempted to stay. However, I felt I had contributed all I could, and the recent board changes put me in a position where I would eventually be unwelcome because my opinions would be different. I stuck to my retirement decision. I never regretted the choice because I would have hated having been asked to leave or forced out. That is a bad way to end a career. It is best to have a parade behind you when you retire.
The Curse Of Being The Wrong Type Of Legend.
I only have one rule that mandates retirement. When you think no one can replace you, you are probably very wrong. I once saw a sign that read “The Legend Has Retired.” I wondered whether the sign espoused the feelings of those who had worked for the retiree, or whether the retiree was a legend only in their own mind. This one is hard for a person to accept. Admitting you have become a legend in your mind takes substantial self-awareness.
One sign of this type of flaw is that you have trouble hiring new talent, and even more importantly, you start to lose most of the good hires that work directly for you. Yes, people come and go, but when people abandon you, you have a problem. When I was the dean of business schools, I was delighted when one of my associate deans became a dean at another school. If I had lost most of my leadership team at once, however, I would have worried about myself.
Time Remaining.
The last reason to retire depends on a person's ability to have a life outside of work. Several decades ago, I had dinner with one of the top lieutenants for Hugh McColl, who was CEO of Bank of America at the time. This lieutenant was in his early sixties. After a pleasant dinner, he commented that he would soon be retiring. I was shocked. In my opinion, he had a chance of taking McColl’s place when he retired. Even if he did not reach the top position, his contributions to the bank’s success were significant and could continue to be.
After I got over my shock, I cautiously asked why. His response was, “TR.” I had never heard the term, so I had to ask what it meant. He clarified that "TR" means "Time Remaining," adding that he wanted more time for his family and hobbies. (I must add, I was relatively young. Time remaining was not on the radar of someone who was 45.)
Natural Reticience.
Let’s not be naïve. All of the rules are good, but people often cannot bring themselves to retire. Why? The answer is simple. Most executives know they will lose income, prestige, in some cases a private jet, and most importantly, an assistant to run their lives. The Bank of America executive had all these baubles but did not feel compelled to keep them. I admired his willingness to take “the road less traveled.” Only a very secure person can use this as a reason to retire.
Who Should Examine The Retirement Rules?
As you have read this article, you may have thought that this blog refers to the retirement of corporate executives. It also applies to ministers who can become jaded, to non-profit leaders who no longer have interest in their cause, or even college professors who have lost their enthusiasm.
I end this, however, by examining how the rules listed above apply to football coaches. I believe football coaches are bound to exit when they rest on their laurels. They win a conference title or have a great season, then assume that their existing plan should not be modified. They cannot, or do not, adjust to players' changing attitudes, the financial environment (for example, NILS), the loss of key assistant coaches, developments in coaching strategy, or the ravages of the portal. Many of these, I believe, were reasons why Coach Saban retired. He had done it all; he knew when to go. I admire him.
When factors like the ones cited in the previous paragraph pop up, a coach will start to lose games and will soon be gone. Of course, I probably would not mind being fired if someone gave me $50,000,000. Perhaps coaches are the one group that shouldn't retire; they should wait for their buy-out.
If you haven't read the initial blog describing the "However View," click here.
