If you’re a leader, you’ll likely find yourself in a lame duck situation at some point. When I announced that after 16 years as Chancellor I would be stepping down to decompress and explore new opportunities, I thought I was ready. I’m not. Then the calls started coming in from colleagues across industries—not congratulating me, but talking about the struggles of being a lame duck leader. Their stories are filled with familiar struggles and strategies that closely relate to my own experiences. This article is designed to help you make this transition in a way that works for you and your campus or organization.
The first thing to remember is that you are a lame duck from the moment you announce your departure. Most leaders believe they will have the same status in their organization until they walk out the door for the last time. No. No matter how long you have been at school, no matter how important you are, or how much you are loved on and off campus: the process of transition has begun. After a series of contacts expressing gratitude and asking for next steps, the phone will ring a little less each day, the heavy email traffic will drop, and the work calendar will free up, unless you force it not to (which I don’t recommend). Those who have given up everything in your time of need will take longer to come back to you. You may find that you get fewer inquiries about day-to-day operations and even fewer inquiries about future issues. This trend will accelerate as new leadership becomes clearer. This is normal. Don’t take it personally.
The second thing to keep in mind is that if you have been with your agency for a long time, you may be going through a grieving process. This is the end of an important era in which your time and thoughts were consumed by campus. You will go through some version of the five stages of grief without even realizing it. You may find yourself preparing strategic plans for the future (denial), overreacting to future-focused comments or actions (anger), or rushing to implement last-minute moves to solidify or advance your legacy (bargaining). You may begin to feel like everything you do is being overshadowed by a campus that is focused on the excitement of a new age and leaving you behind (depression). It’s important to recognize that these stages are affecting your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The sooner you move to stage five, acceptance, the sooner you can help your campus transition in a positive way and gain a healthier attitude for yourself. However, it’s important to remember that the stages of grief are neither distinct nor linear, and you may experience multiple stages at the same time.
Based on my own experience and what others have relayed to me, the following tips can help you get to the acceptance stage faster and achieve a level of inner peace.
- Attention to the needs of faculty, staff and students. Helping meet your employees’ needs can give you purpose in a world that’s suddenly become chaotic. They are grieving too, but their reality is different from yours. You are leaving. They stay and face uncertainty about their future. They worry about the impact of this transition on their careers, jobs, co-workers, and families. Their focus must be on the future. As a leader, your public behavior may increase their stress or help reduce it. Stay positive, upbeat and supportive. Spend some time trying to understand the goals of people on campus and help prepare them for future success. I find that my role is more of an advisor or mentor than a boss, which has the added benefit of allowing me to participate in conversations about the future without feeling like I have to control or direct it.
- Reflect on the good you have done and stop worrying about what will happen after you are gone. I’ve seen too many leaders, myself included, spend their final days worrying about what the next administration will do with their legacy programs, or trying to find a way to determine the future direction of the agency. A well-respected leader I worked for developed a strategic plan in his last year in office called DOANL (Death When Next Leader Arrives). While well intentioned, this approach squandered many people’s time, limited thinking about new possibilities, and even had a negative impact on some people who were inextricably tied to the “old” ideas of the previous president rather than being prepared to build on the new president’s ideas.
One of my employees was retiring just as budget cuts threatened a successful initiative she had spent 10 years implementing. On her last day, I asked her how she was doing. Her response was “I have no control over what happens with this program. It could end tomorrow. I know I’ve had a positive impact on tens of thousands of students and teachers over the past decade, and I feel good about that.” That’s a healthy attitude, and one I try to make mine. Be happy with what you’re doing because it’s something you can control. What happens next is not up to you.
- Check your ego at the door. Let’s face it. It can hurt a little to experience “your person” turning to new friends, talking excitedly about a future without you, or expressing a desire to end what you started. In some of these conversations, you may even find criticism of your leadership. No leader is perfect, and we all make decisions that upset some employees. This is part of the job. However, you will be particularly sensitive during the transition period. Stop overreacting, you lame duck! Take a deep breath and think about whether your ego is driving your reactions. If so, take a step back. Continue to look out for the best interests of those who stay after you walk out the door.
As you get closer to your end date, especially as new leaders are appointed and the process of transitioning into the office begins, you may find yourself fading into the background. Some egotistical people can’t stand it, and their owners start showing off their feathers and demanding attention. Others move toward the shadows and disappear entirely. It doesn’t help your campus or your mental state. At the beginning of the transition, I worked hard to reduce the time I spent on campus business, but I quickly realized that I was filling my time with projects that might have been DOANL. When I realized I was working on myself rather than the future of the campus, I cut back on my time, rediscovered weekends and evenings, took some time to enjoy exploring future opportunities, and felt my mood improve. Balance your involvement. Don’t give up, but don’t overdo it either.
- Embrace the next leader. In the end, whether your successor is your elementary school nemesis, the most annoying person you’ve ever met, or your best friend: you have a responsibility to position the next leader for success. Be honest, but positive and supportive. Develop successors’ strengths and positive impact on campus. Contact the person responsible for leadership and ask how you can help with the transition. Offer advice where appropriate, try not to judge and remember what will be helpful to you when you arrive at the facility. At some point, the best thing you can do is leave. The worst thing you can do is create more stress and tension on the campus community by undermining or opposing your successor.
- Pay attention to yourself. You are a leader. You get used to controlling your emotions so you can focus on what’s best for your campus and community. When someone asks you how you’re doing, no matter how you’re feeling, you answer positively and then turn the question back to the questioner. You may be convinced that you feel fine, but if you’re a lame duck, that may not be the case, and your feelings may become apparent at odd times. Pay attention to those odd moments, as they may well reveal where you are in the grieving process.
One of my weirder moments occurred a few hours before my farewell dinner, which, on my suggestion, was a roast (quite appropriate, given my personality). By the time I was ready, I felt nauseous, my pulse was racing, and my blood pressure was incredibly high. My worried spouse commented that this was a significant and emotional event, and through talking to her, I realized that I was still in denial. Even though I’ve been trying to transition others, I still haven’t come to terms with the fact that I’ll be leaving my job for good. The farewell event was an undeniable sign that my role and life as Prime Minister were coming to an end. Once I realized why I was stressed, my anxiety decreased and we were able to have a really fun and heartwarming evening.
in conclusion
The above tips can help you stay focused as a positive and productive leader during the “lame duck” phase, allowing you to effectively navigate the complex emotions associated with leaving your campus role. It is important to realize that the grieving process is not a linear sequence of emotions but a fluid experience of emotional ups and downs. By checking in with yourself regularly and acknowledging your emotions while working to make a positive impact on campus, you can end your tenure with the appreciation of a community that is well prepared for the future. When you stagger out of the house like a lame duck for the last time, you’ll find yourself moving confidently into the next chapter of your life with enthusiasm and optimism.
