Outgrowing the Job Isn’t Betrayal—It’s the Point
Why Tenure Limits Might Be the Real Secret to Growth
Maybe we need employment term limits.
I mean, we’ve got presidential ones—why not professional ones?
The point isn’t rigidity. It’s intentionality.
In my experience, I’m sharper, more resilient, and infinitely more creative because I’ve worked in a range of environments, across different companies. That range? It changes you. Not in a “I dated around to find the one” kind of way. It’s more like: I learned my craft by pressure-testing it in different systems, with different people, solving different kinds of chaos.
Take 2001. I joined Apple just as they were gearing up for their first retail store launch. We were a tight crew. A blur of building, shifting, reorganizing. Twenty-four years later, I’m still friends with people I met during that time—some of whom are still there.
And I get it: there used to be this idea that the “right” thing to do was to stay. Pension. 401(k). Job security. Longevity meant loyalty. And for a while, that made sense.
Then came the tech boom. People started jumping jobs. And everyone panicked.
“Why are you hopping?”
“What’s with the gap?”
We still do this in 2025, by the way—judge people for gaps in employment. Even when we know full well that more people than ever are pausing to protect their mental health, raise kids, care for parents, or just—God forbid—breathe.
And we’re still clinging to this outdated myth: Find your forever company and stay put.
Wild, right?
Let’s kill this dinosaur of a belief already. The idea that the best career path is to find a good company and stay put—because compounding interest and cake at your retirement party.
That story is broken.
We now live in an economy where layoffs happen over Slack. Where mental health breaks are real. Where parenting is work. Where you might be unemployed for six months because you’re being strategic, not lazy.
It’s time we dropped the shame and stopped measuring careers in uninterrupted stretches of loyalty.
So here’s the proposal: employment term limits.
Not a hard rule, but a new rhythm. A reframe. A mindset shift.
Let’s say the default is no one stays in the same job for more than four years. At year three, the countdown starts. Not in a scary, performance management way—but as a proactive career development conversation.
Where should you grow next? Is it a new role inside this company? A pivot to another team? Or is it time to take your talent elsewhere and try it in a new arena?
In the best version of this idea, HR would actually act like… wait for it… a guidance counselor. Or better: a career agent. Coaching you. Nudging you. Helping you figure out when it’s time to move and where you might go.
And the recruiting team? They’d play both sides. Bringing in new talent and helping current talent exit well. A well-staffed, strategic outplacement function—not as punishment, but as graduation.
Here’s how it could work.
Path One: Internal Growth.
This is where you regularly assess employee performance and ask, What else could this person do here? What would stretch them? Not just a shiny new title or a lateral shuffle to trick them into staying. Real growth. Different challenge. Different team. A new edge to hone.
But this only works if it’s about their development—not your desperation to keep them.
If you’re afraid to lose someone because “they know everything,” congratulations: that’s not loyalty. That’s negligence. You built a fragile system and now you’re scared to watch it wobble.
Path Two: The Graceful Exit.
The one we’re terrible at.
What if, as people near their tenure limit—say, four years—you sit down and talk? Not performance review crap. Real talk.
Is there something here that still lights them up?
Or is it time to go?
And in a utopian company? You’d have a re-placement agency inside your org. Your recruiting team wouldn’t just bring in fresh talent—they’d help existing employees find their next thing, even if it’s not with you.
Especially if it’s not with you.
Imagine that. Helping people fly without clipping their wings first.
Stay with me, because this is a win for everyone
First, for middle-of-the-road, B and C players, it offers what they often lack: clarity, structure, and a dignified off-ramp. These folks aren't villains—they’re just stuck. Some of them have potential that’s been dulled by years of playing it safe. Others are just tired, coasting, or scared to stretch.
Term limits—done right—give them a window. A checkpoint. A moment to ask:
Am I still growing here? Or am I just surviving?
And for the ones who’ve quietly settled into “good enough,” it’s the nudge they won’t give themselves. A reminder that the clock is ticking—not as punishment, but as permission to evolve. They can shift internally and try something new. Or they can step out and reinvent somewhere else—without shame, without whispers, without feeling like they failed.
Now flip it. Why is this good for the company?
Because it breaks the cycle of quiet rot.
The one where B players protect their little kingdoms and hire C players to keep the peace. The one where mediocrity becomes normalized because no one wants to rock the boat.
Term limits disrupt that pattern.
They force movement.
They make room.
And more importantly—they shift the power dynamic. Instead of letting inertia run your org, you’re designing for velocity. You’re creating a system that rewards contribution, not just time served. You’re sending a clear message:
We don’t do coasting here.
You also build a culture where exits aren’t failure—they’re graduation. That kind of honesty attracts A players. It keeps the ambitious ones engaged. It tells your people: we want your best work, not your eternal presence. And when it's time to go, we'll help you land strong.
It’s human.
It’s strategic.
And it burns the cruft out of your talent pipeline.
Everybody wins—except mediocrity.
And that’s the whole point.
What if real loyalty looked like helping people leave well?
What if great companies earned their reputations not by how long people stay—but by how much people grow while they’re there and how they’re supported on the way out?
The best alumni network isn’t an email list.
It’s a trail of people who say, “That place made me better.”
So here’s the shift:
Let’s stop measuring loyalty in years.
Let’s start measuring it in impact.
And then—let them go.
How-To: Make It A Real Thing:
For CEOs:
Fund an internal outplacement team. Make it your company’s signature move. It’s better than pizza parties.
For Managers:
Start the three-year mark conversations. Your job isn’t to hoard talent—it’s to help them evolve.
For HR:
Be the mirror. The map. The career co-pilot. Think less like compliance, more like agency.
Let’s build a workplace where the expected thing isn’t to stay forever.
Let’s make term limits the new loyalty.
Who’s in?