While talking with a colleague yesterday about a retiring member of his staff and their increasingly combative attitude as the retirement date approaches, I recalled to him something an instructor once said while I was attending Logistics Readiness Officer training in 2011. This instructor was in a similar position, he had decided to retire after a quarter century of military service and was only a couple months from his last duty day. He shared his experience of working with people that grow more complaining and negative as they near their final days at work, which often taints an otherwise honorable career by having this attitude become a lasting impression of the individual. His advice was simple but is something that has stuck with me since. He said “Once you’ve decided to leave, sprint to the finish and then quietly step aside”. Give your full effort to the job you agreed to do and then hand it over without any drama. The organization and your reputation will benefit from this decision.