If you don’t leave on time, you will be fired or forced to quit

Introduction                       

After serving 44 days as the Prime Minister of the UK, Liz Truss resigned, stating that she cannot deliver the mandate on which she was elected to do. Others claimed that she was forced to resign due to the impact that the budget had on the financial markets. Whatever the reason is for her resignation, I want to use this article to highlight some lessons we can learned from her reign as Prime Minister.

Winners do quit

Some people argue that winners do not quit. Even Liz Truss was saying up to the day before her resignation that she is fighter not a quitter.  The truth is some winners do quit especially if you reach a point of no return. You just need to know when to quit which leads to the next lesson.

Quit before you are forced to quit

Too many of us remain in positions knowing our time is up. Unfortunately, some of us do not quit because we do not have an alternative plan. Some of us also like the prestige and power that come with the position, and we do not want to give it up. The thing is though, when you do not quit when you should, you will be forced to quit, or you will be fired. I believe you should know when you have exhausted your time in your position. If you don’t know, then you are either disengaged or out of touch with reality.

Don’t take on a position you know you were not called to do

Sometimes we accept a position knowing very well that is not something that you cannot handle or want to do. When you get in the position, you put up a front trying to carry out the role. We like the status and the perks that come with it, but we know we are clueless. Liz knew it was a tough task, but she took it on anyway. Of course, there is nothing wrong with taking on challenging tasks but if you know that it is not what you were called to do, don’t take it on.

Don’t forget the average person

Many times, we get in position, we tend to look after the influential and we overlook the needs of the average and non-influential persons. However, the average person is just as important as the rich and mighty. We should not be one sided just passing the laws and policies just to help one set of people. There must be a balance. Quite frankly, the average person has just as much power and influence as anyone else. They perhaps make up a significant part of your customer base or voters list therefore don’t forget them.

Don’t be too quick

I know that leaders should be decisive but at the same time leaders should not be to fast in rolling out plans without thinking about the impact. There should always be “what if” scenarios and sometimes we must take our time and perhaps do a phased approach in rolling out initiatives. Maybe Liz did have what if scenarios, but it is certainly a lesson for all of us.

Communicate with your team and get their support

Sometimes leaders do not communicate the plans with their team. In fact, some team members only hear about the plans the same time the public hear about it. If you want to get the support and buy in of your team, meet, discuss, and get feedback from your team.

There are issues everywhere

Sometimes you think only your country or organization has issues, but the resignation of Liz Truss has demonstrated that there are issues everywhere. It does not matter if you are a big or small organization or a first world or third world country. Issues are everywhere.

Conclusion

I know it is not easy letting go of a role especially if you are getting paid very well. The position you are in is not a position you will be in forever even though some of us think we will be. You need to know when it is time to quit. There is nothing wrong with quitting. Because you quit something, it does not mean you are failure. It is just time for you to move onto better things. If you are unable to deliver what you were hired to do, sooner or later you will be forced to resign or get fired.