When Quitting Is Not Failure

Jakob Hysek
6 hours ago
3 min read

Two drawings of progress. One is a linear line from setting a goal to achievement - that's how we imagine it.
The other line starts at the same point but wildly goes up and down, back and forth, before arriving at the goal, showing the struggle of real progress. — Progress is seldom a linear development.

"I quit."

When I quit my job as a Senior Large Enterprise Account Executive at Europe's most successful enterprise software company, two strong emotions rattled me: on the one hand, I felt absolutely liberated.

On the other hand, I felt like a complete failure.

I felt like a failure because I had quit. I had given up on a position I had been working for. I had given up earlier than planned. All of those reasons spoke to one truth: I had failed.

But had I really?

Perseverance is a critical leadership trait

In my leadership training in the military, we were constantly challenged to push through uncertainty. Perseverance while dealing with not knowing what's next was supposed to prepare us.

You will never climb a mountain if you quit once it gets tough.

A lot of us are taught never to quit. Quitting is seen as accepting failure or defeat. Perseverance and resilience in the face of setbacks are taught as great mindsets for overcoming obstacles and solving tough challenges.

But sometimes, this determination can trap us into losing positions and keep us from honestly (re-)evaluating our current situations and maybe even from correcting or changing our course or retreating.

Leadership is taking ownership. If you take ownership of everything in your control, then this includes plans that might no longer be working. And if something is no longer working, what do you do?

Quitting can feel like failure, but it does not have to be

Whether quitting means walking away from a failing project or exiting a role, your ego might tell you, “If you stop, you lose.”

Decisions like this should never be about protecting your ego. Your decisions need to have the overarching goal and mission in mind. Sometimes you need to give yourself room to reassess.

This is exactly the moment when a tactical retreat might be your best option.

Leadership is a double-edged sword

As a leader, whether it is about your team or how to lead your own life, you must walk a tightrope: you must be confident enough to push on when it gets tough, but humble enough to recognize when pushing forward is no longer the right direction.

Quitting can mean losing progress and crushing your teams and your own morale. But pushing on when data and all signs are telling you it does not lead anywhere is useless perseverance.

Reframe quitting in your mind

It is not giving up. It is reassessing. Ask and answer the tough questions without emotional attachment. Then you decide, communicate it clearly and move in the new direction.

It is not about how long you can hold on. It is about figuring out what your next best move is for your team, your organization and you.

Assess your week and quit what no longer serves a purpose

Take the weekend and go through your last and upcoming weeks. Does every project and meeting have a clear purpose? Which goal is it serving?

Evaluate it objectively and take your team along with you on that path. Decide whether to adjust, pause, or axe it—and then take ownership of that decision.

For me, quitting that job at the beginning of this story was a decision that led me on the steepest learning path ever.

Professionally and personally.

It might have felt like failure for a short while, but I am very proud and grateful that I had the balls to take that decision.

Do you have a decision you are currently struggling with? Are you not sure what your next best move is?

I can help you with that. The first step is always a conversation. So let us have one:

Introduction

We will address your questions in a 15-minute conversation and determine whether and how we can work together.

I look forward to hearing from you!