I was on a non profit board where the founder realized he wasn't the right person for the job after 20 years of growing the org. It finally got to a point that he felt like the growth was beyond what he ever imagined or wanted.

He was, on every metric, very successful. He grew the org from nothing, got millions of dollars in donations, amassed a huge base, and no one would have thought different if he just kept going.

I remember sitting down with him one-on-one and asked him why. He thought about it for a minute and said, "It's time for someone to make it even better."

Looking back, I think I see the exhaustion. To constantly innovate, to push people forward, to push the org, the mission....it was all one person at a time. He reached a point in both age and in life that it just wasn't something he could keep doing.

He loved the mission so much he knew it deserved better.

If that isn't leadership, I don't know what is.