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Sooner or later, you are going to change jobs. A better offer will come your way, and it’ll be the perfect next step for your career. Or someone who works for you is going to move on to the next big thing for them. So, whether you’re leaving or someone else is leaving, how do you handle that transition well?
The first thing I want to make clear is that leaving well is not easy to do. It’s a difficult psychological shift. In our work, we use a framework called the S-curve—a practical, visual representation of what growth looks and feels like. Picture that curve, sloping up gradually at the beginning, then shooting up, and finally leveling out at the top.
We start at the launch point, where growth is slow but steady. Once we have enough information and confidence, we accelerate our growth into the sweet spot. When ease displaces effort and growth peters out, that’s mastery.
When you get to that zone of mastery, you’ve learned what you came here to learn. And then you’re anticipating the next S-curve. The next job offer is on your desk, and you’re managing that excitement and nervous energy.
But research shows us that folks only really remember the beginning and end of a list, and if you don’t leave well, you can lose the goodwill and reputation you’ve built up over your time at your current job. That unstable energy can ruin those 10 years in 10 days—hyperbole, for sure, but not by much.
So, how do you manage the transition for yourself? And if you’re a manager, what should you advise others to do when they’re wrapping up this S-curve?
Have a conversation about what mastery feels like.
The more you understand what’s going on in your head at mastery, the more you can control those feelings and finish out strong—instead of burning bridges. Don’t repress those feelings, however, because yes, it’s very exciting! Simply notice them and let them float on by without attaching yourself to them.
Working off of that understanding, set an end date with specific deliverables.
Nail down what needs to get done and avoid daydreaming about the next launch point. And as a manager, don’t forget that one of those deliverables needs to be a smooth transition, so plan out what that hand-off looks like and what needs to be prepared for it. There will be a period when your team is going to feel that absence, so how can you set up both them and your successor for success?
Then, do the work.
Put your nose to the grindstone and finish strong. In a relay race, Olympic or otherwise, a lot rides on that last person holding the baton. Don’t let your team down, and don’t let yourself down. And if you’re the employer watching someone else leave, appreciate them for their efforts. Give kudos often—it costs nothing.
If everyone holds up their part of this transition, you can be proud of yourself—first and foremost—and how you handed off that baton. You will have a group of supporters who truly appreciate the energy put into that last stretch of the relay, folks who’ll be rooting for you the rest of your career. And in your employer, you’ll have an ambassador of goodwill, someone who can vouch for your determination to end right and end well.
So whether you’re leaving or watching someone else leave, keep the psychology of growth front of mind and scaffold around that energy. As exciting as taking that next step can feel, you haven’t taken it yet—and there are people who care about you here and now, so leave in a way that they’ll wish you’d never left.
