# Leave a handover behind
Being the reference · principle · https://build-here.africa/book/chapters/10-09-leaving-is-not-a-betrayal.html

## The reflex

You are thinking of leaving a team, an engagement, or an activity. The question of continuity gets mixed up with a judgement about your loyalty.

## The builder's reflex

Separate your choice to leave from organising the handover. Prepare a clear handover, with an end date.

## Why

People leave for pay, workload, an opportunity, a life. A team that treats every departure as betrayal teaches its members to hide their plans until the last day.

What you leave behind counts: the people you trained, the working habits, the decisions explained, the documents maintained. Preparing that is your part. Guaranteeing continuity of service is the team's and its managers'.

A salesperson leaves the team. He hands his open accounts, the contacts, the open points and the context of each customer to the person taking over. The team decides which accounts it can keep with its means. He sets an end date, after which he is no longer the fallback.

Not everything can be handed over before a departure. What is missing calls for a team decision.

## Try this

If you are preparing to leave, list the activities under way, the open decisions, the resources and the access. Prioritise with your manager.

Have each handover accepted by the person taking it. Set the date your involvement ends.

## To discuss

What do we actually ask of someone who leaves?