I was reading about a Chairperson and former CEO, who kept using the new CEO’s office and personal bathroom. As a CEO, the Chairperson had been an outstanding leader.

But now, ‘outside’ the day to day strategic thinking and organizational action, he was finding it very hard to let go – and allow the new CEO to lead.

Letting go requires a particular kind of courage that rarely gets acknowledged in leadership circles.

It’s not the bravery of leading through crisis. Or the strength to make tough calls. It’s the quiet, deeply human courage to let go.

To step back. Hand over. Walk away. And do this with confidence, grace and trust.

We often fully register the times when leaders fail to do that. I wonder if we celebrate enough when they succeed.

When a Potentially Luminous Legacy Turns into a Lead Weight

Sumner Redstone was once a titan of the media world. The man behind Viacom, CBS, and an empire that shaped what millions of people watched and heard. But as he aged into his 90s, he became less of a legend and more of a cautionary tale of not legging go.

He clung to his position and power.

He became publicly embroiled in legal battles over his capacity to lead and clinging to his companies long after he could meaningfully guide them.

His refusal to let go didn’t just tarnish his reputation, it created chaos for the organization he had built. Leadership was unclear. Succession plans were contested.

And his legacy, instead of inspiring stakeholders, left them anxious and confused.

How many leaders build something great – as Sumner Redstone did?

How many leave it well?

Why Is Letting Go So Hard?

For many leaders, the role isn’t just a job, it’s an identity.

The title, the decisions, the corner office… those aspects of the role become entwined with self-worth.

Stepping aside can feel like losing a part of themselves – as if they are stepping into irrelevance.

Think Steve Jobs when first ousted from Apple. He’d co-founded the company. He’d delivered some monumental successes. He was still only thirty. He certainly felt as though he’d lost a part of his identity.

If you add to that the fear of being forgotten and the uncertainty of what comes next – the doubt around whether anyone else can do the job the right way (your way) – then holding on begins to feel safer than stepping away.

Even when it’s time.

But the longer leaders hold on past their prime (not in terms of age, but in terms of the value they create), the more prone they may be to confuse legacy with control – and blur the line between commitment and ego.

What Letting Go Gracefully Looks Like

Letting go doesn’t mean walking away casually or prematurely. It means consciously making space for the next chapter in the organization’s growth. A future not dependent on your presence.

Some leaders have done this with remarkable wisdom and grace.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates knew that stepping away from Microsoft meant not just changing roles, but changing identity. He stayed long enough to support his successor, then made a clean shift into philanthropy. He didn’t hover. He didn’t need to be the smartest person in the boardroom. He let Microsoft evolve – without him at the center.

He also allowed himself to be guided by his long-term mentor, Warren Buffet – into handing over the reins at Microsoft. Buffet told Gates he would only contribute to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation if Gates stepped away from his roles at Microsoft.

Indra Nooyi

After 12 years as the CEO of PepsiCo, Nooyi managed her exit. She groomed her successor, spoke openly about the timing of her departure and left stakeholders with clarity and confidence about the future of PepsiCo. She exited to the sound of applause, rather than leaving behind feelings of friction.

Her farewell was an intentional act of leadership.

Paul Polman

Polman led Unilever with vision and moral clarity – having pioneered and progressed the practice of sustainability across the organization. He left when he felt Unilever was ready to carry the sustainability agenda without him.

He put in place the strategy and the systems – trusting the purpose and processes would outlive him.

In all these cases, the act of letting go was not weakness, it was wisdom. The final, often most impactful leadership move.

A Few Signs It’s Time to Move On

Assuming you have the fundamentals in place – such as a competent successor – how do you know it’s time to start planning to move on?

• When you’re losing your momentum and deep down, you know you are ready for change.
• When you notice the energy, ideas and wisdom shared by others outshine your own.
• When you’re more attached to how things were than where they could go.
• When you start slowing others down instead of lifting them up.
• When your presence overshadows your successor.
• When fear of what’s next, rather than an inspiring vision of the future, keeps you in the seat.

Letting go doesn’t mean you don’t matter anymore. It means you’ve created the conditions to not need to matter.

Call Back

And sometimes the organization calls you back. In those situations, how do you know it’s the right thing to retake the helm?

Perhaps it’s about retaining the company’s soul or values – such as when Howard Schultz returned to Starbucks in 2008.

Or maybe it’s about resetting strategic goals in changing markets, such as when Michael Dell returned to Dell in 2007 – leading the organization through privatization and the acquisition of EMC.

Or in times of deep crisis, such as when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 when the company he co-founded was near collapse. And he executed one of the most legendary comebacks in business history.

These examples show the value that returning CEOs can create for organizations, but in many situations in can be hard not to wonder what new leadership might have emerged if the succession foundations had been properly laid and the necessary space created.

What Does This Mean For You?

You’re leading already.

Leading yourself, leading others, leading an organization.

How will you ensure you:

• Recognize when it’s time to move on?
• Understand your real reason for holding on?
• Are preparing someone – or something – to thrive without me?

Clinging to power can pave the way for your downfall.

Handing over power – with the appropriate planning, trust and confidence – can become a legacy.