The headline in the Wall Street Journal read, “Departure Plans Surge in Congress.” In the New York Times it read, “Backing Away from Congress by the Dozens.” The point of both pieces was not that members of the House of Representatives were heading for the exits. It was that so many of them were doing so at the same time.
In the month of November twelve lawmakers – six Republicans and six Democrats – announced that they would not continue to serve in the Congress. Nor were the numbers of quitters limited to these twelve alone. They were part of a larger group that now numbered at least three dozen members of Congress who said this year that they would not seek reelection.
Their plans differed, of course. Some were hanging up their hats altogether, others were planning to run for another elective office, and still others were headed for what they thought greener pastures. Their message though was the same: Serving in the House was no longer sufficient or even satisfying. In fact, in many cases it was so unsatisfying as to be downright infuriating. Said one lawmaker who had served six-terms: “The last few years have been among the most difficult and frustrating times in my professional career.”
The temptation is to assume that the wave of retirements is only on account of the dysfunction in Washington. And it’s true. It’s extreme, exemplified vividly by the recent spectacle of Republicans unable for weeks to agree on a House Speaker, but, perhaps more tellingly, by lawmakers’ inability to pass legislation even on which most Americans agee. Taxation is an example. Most Americans want the rich to pay more. But Congress continues to balk. Similarly with gun control. Most Americans want stricter controls over purchasing firearms. But Congress continues to balk.
But the truth is not so simple. The fact is that leaders everywhere are finding that being a leader in the present is less satisfying than it was in the past. The evidence is clear. Leader tenure is shorter and leader turnover is faster.
- It appears that more American CEOs headed for the exits in 2023 than in any year previous.
- It appears that the average tenure of American CEOs is dropping.
- It appears that more American college presidents are quitting at faster rates than in any years previous.
- It appears that the average tenure of American college presidents is dropping.
- It appears that the attrition rate of public-school principals is higher now than it was five years ago.
- It appears that more than one third of American pastors are considering quitting their posts.
In each case I write “it appears” because the data is short of conclusive. But the trends are unmistakable. The demands on leaders are higher and the satisfactions are lower. As G. David Gearhart, an expert on leadership in higher education, put it, being a college or university president has become “very difficult to do in the right way. There are so many groups out there that a college president has to try to appease, that it’s almost impossible to do.”
I have and will continue to discuss the reasons why the change, especially in the last decade. Suffice it here to say that good governance – especially in democratic systems – requires good leaders. If we continue to beat them up and beat them down it will not serve us well.