I often wonder at the, what seems like hubris to me, of ruling into your 80s and 90s and refusing to provide sucessors with the opportunity to transition into ruling with you as an advisor. It seems to indicate they would be so bad at it, you can’t bear to hand it over. And then - it means you only hand it over when you are no longer around to advise and assist.
I wrote this in the QEII thread, but pondered the truth of it in political office, commercial boardrooms, sports management, etc.
It seems like hubris to me because it lets so many potentially beneficial transition steps get deleted.
….
Interested in discussion of examples of people who ruled too long. Or of the converse; of times when dying in office really is the best way to hand over a role. Or of times when letting someone with advancing dementia remain in a leadership position has actual benefits.
How does a society, or a government or a corporation determine when it is past time. And how could they manage that transition?
I wrote this in the QEII thread, but pondered the truth of it in political office, commercial boardrooms, sports management, etc.
- The refusal to retire, to move to an advisory role, to let succession take place while you are still productive, but not nearly as productive as before.
- The refusal to acknowledge the skill of younger people with relevant experience (the same as you had when you started) and maybe experience needed to remain relevant to those you are leading/controlling.
- The willingness to let succession happen in a crisis, unexpected, by chance and not care that the hand-off may be incomplete.
- The willingness to let your sucessor take the role without the value of your advice.
It seems like hubris to me because it lets so many potentially beneficial transition steps get deleted.
….
Interested in discussion of examples of people who ruled too long. Or of the converse; of times when dying in office really is the best way to hand over a role. Or of times when letting someone with advancing dementia remain in a leadership position has actual benefits.
How does a society, or a government or a corporation determine when it is past time. And how could they manage that transition?