how to quit your job

If you are thinking of leaving your job, take a moment out to consider what Sarah Palin did.

We loved this piece in Harvard Business Review:

When former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin announced on Friday that she's resigning as governor of Alaska, I was all ears. Not only am I a political junkie, but since I quit my job last fall I've also become something of a student of unexpected resignations (I talk with a lot of quitters these days).

Beyond the basic publicity blunders Palin made (e.g., her spokesperson was on vacation in New York while the announcement was delivered in Alaska), the governor's departing speech was rife with errors of judgment. Every quitter, famous or not, can learn from her mistakes, particularly if you're resigning from a position of leadership.

1. Palin made blaming others a centerpiece of her announcement. Justified as her claims of unfair treatment — especially by the media — might be, better to save them for a forthcoming book rather than air them at a moment when classiness would earn a lot more respect. Whining doesn't make for a very mellifluous swan song.


2. She gave in to the temptation to grandstand. Palin asserted, over and over, the nobleness of her decision to resign right away rather than have Alaskans endure a lame duck governorship. Had there been deference and humility in the assertion, she might have carried it off. Instead, she cast it as the greatest of gifts from a selfless leader to her people. People don't have the stomach for grandeur when you're bailing out on them. (See my previous post, "How to Quit Your Job with Style.")


3. Palin paid little mind to her successor. As a viewer, I hardly knew that Alaska's lieutenant governor, Sean Parnell, was standing next to Palin during her announcement. She barely referenced Parnell's readiness for the job and the continuity he'll bring. Sure, he got to speak after Palin, but offering extensive, reassuring remarks about him would have gone a long way to comfort Alaska's citizens.


4. She was neither transparent nor coherent. For a public figure, complete transparency about every dimension of a decision to resign is not always possible. But what you do share should be clear. The parts of Palin's speech that focused on her reasons for leaving were so illogically structured and delivered that the central explanation remained elusive. A resignation is about as important a time as any to meticulously prepare your remarks, no matter how high or low your office.

Sarah Palin undoubtedly occupies a peculiar, even a unique, space in American life — one that few of us can ever imagine for ourselves. Nonetheless, the lessons to be learned from her resignation are many, beyond those just outlined. What lessons do you take from her announcement?

If you want to the link - http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/demaio/2009/07/dont-quit-the-way-sarah-palin.html