Do Leaders Have a Shelf Life? Not if They Follow This Advice.

Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein talks to reporters before Game 6 of the 2016 National League Championship Series.
Listen

It’s hard to argue against the theories of baseball executive Theo Epstein. The once-youngest general manager in baseball history was authoritative in building the rosters of two longtime underperforming teams, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, and ending two historic championship droughts.

One of his practices, however, may lack merit. Last month, Epstein resigned as president of baseball operations with the Cubs following his ninth season, likely due in part to his hypothesized 10-year shelf life of a leader.

According to Associate Professor Scott Taylor, the inaugural Arthur M. Blank Endowed Chair for Values-Based Leadership at The Blank School, and Professor Wendy Murphy, associate dean of the undergraduate school, leaders can manage effectively for years and years, permitting they have a strong work-life balance and possess exceptional adaptability traits.

“As long as you can continue to adapt, and grow, and learn, and contribute new things,” Murphy said, “there’s certainly not a shelf life.”

Why Balance Is Vital in Leadership

In October 2011, Epstein stepped down as general manager of the Red Sox. Days after his resignation, he wrote an op-ed for The Boston Globe explaining his decision.

“Football legend Bill Walsh used to say that coaches and executives should seek change after 10 years with the same team,” Epstein wrote. “The theory is that both the individual and the organization benefit from a change after so much time together. The executive gets rebirth and the energy that comes with a new challenge; the organization gets a fresh perspective, and the chance for true change that comes with new leadership.”

As a coach of executives, Taylor has worked with leaders from renowned hospitals such as the Cleveland Clinic to global brands such as Coca-Cola, and has found that a leader’s longevity is contingent upon how they take care of themselves outside of the role.

“Very good leaders sustain their leadership for long periods of time when they make investments in more than just their job and their role.”

Scott Taylor, inaugural Arthur M. Blank Endowed Chair for Values-Based Leadership at The Blank School

“You look at certain CEOs that have led for a long time, a pattern you’ll find is that they’re fairly balanced,” Taylor said. “It’s about connection, it’s about finding fulfillment in others.”

When leaders abandon relationships between family and friends or activities they once enjoyed, they can find themselves falling into a downward spiral of dramatic life experiences. And, if or when they begin to identify too much with the role, leaders can become less open to feedback and may no longer see others as human beings.

Extending the Longevity of a Leader

The median tenure for a CEO at large companies is just five years. In addition to finding balance, leaders can exceed that threshold by having a life vision and adjusting it along the way.

“I’ve seen very good leaders sustain their leadership for long periods of time when they make investments in more than just their job and their role,” Taylor said. “A compelling vision of who they want to be gives them excitement, fuel, purpose, and meaning.”

“Your interests and skills are constantly evolving with the organization,” Murphy said. “The idea of job crafting means we can actively shape our tasks and relationship over time, so it’s not like it’s the same job you’re doing year after year.”

While Murphy definitively believes there’s no expiration date for leaders, she said transition opportunities can develop in appropriate situations.

“In organizations, there’s healthy turnover when people are ready to move on,” she said. “We all reinvent ourselves a couple of different times in our careers. But, sometimes it requires a different context.”

Posted in Insights

More from Insights »

Latest Stories

Three creative business people look at a window filled with post-it notes
What Is Creative Thinking in the Workplace? And How Does It Fuel Innovation and Problem Solving? Creative thinking is one of the most essential skills for the workforce. Here’s why those skills are so important, especially in this era of rapid change.
By
September 12, 2025

Posted in Insights

Babson Alumnus speaks with Babson College students about sales.
How Babson Is Reimagining Sales Education—and Launching Careers Along the Way The Sept. 17 Sales Leadership Summit celebrates Babson’s ongoing growth in sales education and alumni engagement, a winning combination that translated to jobs for two recent Babson alumni.
By
Hillary Chabot
Writer
Hillary Chabot
Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.
September 11, 2025

Posted in Community, Outcomes

The field of Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Four Lessons from a Summer Internship at an NFL Stadium This past summer, Ethan Metaferia ’27 served as a stadium operations intern at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Here are four key lessons that he learned.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
September 10, 2025

Posted in Insights, Outcomes