Leap of faith: too old for the job?
A good leader knows when it's time to step down
Elderly leaders are not uncommon, but they do not normally run democracies and therefore bear the scrutiny of voters. The oldest country leader currently is Paul Biya, President of Cameroon, at 91 years of age, after 40 years in power. Mahmood Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, is 88 years of age having been elected for a four-year term in 2005 and still in power today. King Salman of Saudi Arabia is the country’s absolute monarch at age 88, with his son Prince Mohammed bin Salman the de facto ruler, neither of them democratically elected. Joe Biden, at 81, does not even make the top ten of elderly world leaders.
Jewish tradition admires the person who is able to let go of power and pass it on to a worthy successor. Moses appointed his successor Joshua in front of the whole community. Moses makes it clear that he is passing on his leadership without rancour, without recrimination and with his very best wishes for his successor. (Numbers 27:23)
Rabbi Yosei Bar Choni said: “A person may become jealous of anyone but never of their child nor their student.” (B Talmud Sanhedrin 105b) It eats away at your soul to be jealous of those who succeed you. But it feeds your soul to take pride in their achievements and to prepare them to be able to succeed you.
Elijah the prophet found and trained a successor, Elisha, upon whom he “bestowed a double portion of his spirit.” (2 Kings 2:9).
King David is praised by our Rabbis for doing the same in passing on his monarchy to Solomon (1 Kings 1:47). His servants came to bless King David, saying: “May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne.”
It’s impressive that that is what has happened in America, that Joe Biden understood that it was time to step away from his candidacy as the American President.
Leadership is a precious gift and a heavy burden. A good leader not only knows when the time has come to step back but has also prepared talented people to give more than they could give, to bring new ideas, fresh energy and renewed vision, perhaps built on the values of their mentor.
Good succession planning is the mark of good leadership. Holding on until what you are leading is adversely affected by your dogged continuation is not. Judaism does not admire the person who hangs on to power until they are removed from it by the course of nature, but rather those who think forward and, in the opening words of Pirkei Avot (1:1), “trains up many disciples”.
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