When is it Time to Step Back?

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me … It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”
~ Steve Jobs

Your business dream has come true. You are the founder of a successful, thriving company – you had the initial idea, build the company from scratch, and invested enormous amounts of time and resources into it. For many founders and CEOs, making the decision to take a step back from the day-to-day operations of the company may be the most difficult decision of all.

But yet, it may be one of the most important business decisions to be made. As a company grows and matures, its needs from a leadership perspective change. At the beginning, a company needs a creative, innovate individual to take the lead. However, once established and successful, the leadership priorities of a company switch to focus to items such as sales, marketing, after-sales support, and investor relations. Here are seven signs that you may be ready to step down from your founder and/or CEO role:

1. Change in Corporate Focus. Raising funds, nurturing talent, and focusing on company culture have replace prior priorities related to building the organization. The focus is now growth as opposed to survival.
2. Company Growth has Plateaued. If growth has plateaued, it is often a sign that the CEO is no longer interested in acquiring new customers. If this is the case, it may be in the best interest of the company for the CEO to step down in favor of new leadership that is interested in strategic growth.
3. Day-to-Day Operations are Tedious. If tasks that you use to find energizing – such as corporate strategy meetings or high-level hiring decisions – have become mundane, it is a sign to step away from the day-to-day corporate operations.
4. Employee Retention is Declining. While there are numerous reasons employees may be leaving the company, it typically comes down to whether they feel that their professional growth is supported by their management team.
5. Excitement About a “New” Future. While leaving a well-known environment may be difficult, new possibilities are endless. Many former CEOs go on to have successful second careers as mentors to young executives, leadership coaches, board service, or philanthropic endeavors.
6. A Succession Plan is in Place. Succession planning does not happen overnight. However, the implementation of an on-going process could mean the difference between a great upheaval or a smooth transition from an old leader to a new one. Having a succession plan will truly pay off and it will positively impact the team, the customers, and the bottom line of the business.
7. Taking a Step Back. There are a few instances where corporate founders are running successful companies (Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg come to mind) but, as a whole, founders usually see that taking a step back, in whatever form is required, is often best for the company.