The Graceful Exit

If we walk in with class, let’s not scramble out in haste.

April 27, 2023

It was a groundbreaking restaurant — fine Indian cuisine with more than 275 seats in the heart of New York City — but in 2010, famed restaurateur Danny Meyer finally closed the doors on Tabla after 13 years.

Meyer had agonized over the decision and later admitted he probably should’ve shuttered it two years earlier. But once his choice was made, he posed a critical question we might all be wise to weigh at some point when we leave a leadership position.

“What if we could distinguish ourselves as much based on how well we closed… as we had with how well we opened it?”, he recently said on the Tim Ferriss Show.

It’s a critical thought for us as leaders.

Many of us dazzle in the opening weeks on the job. We prepare extensively to nail the introductory press conference. We put forward detailed growth strategies that impress our bosses. We woo current team members with talks about the ways in which they’ll serve them.

But while the start is pivotal, what might be more reflective of our class and character is how we end it.

Meyer recognized this over a decade ago, so instead of having his employees show up with to find a lock on Tabla’s doors, he gave them three months of advanced warning and prepared them for the next phases of their careers.

He invited restaurant alumni to come cook and network with current staff, held job fairs for his employees with other chefs, and even hosted a fundraiser for earthquake victims.

The point is that if our entrances to a new job are a red carpet, we don’t need to hastily scramble out a back exit when we depart.

Meyer certainly had other restaurants and would still be incredibly successful with Tabla’s shuttering. And not all of us will be able to go to the lengths he did when we’re moving on.

But he still felt a duty to care for his employees and make sure they landed on their feet.

Whether we’re planning to make a move shortly or if it’s on the horizon in the years ahead, we should do our best not to blindside our team members.

If we walk in with class, let’s not scramble out with haste.

“What are all the ways we can look back on this and say, ‘We did it the right way?’”, Meyer asked.

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