> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.changeout.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Ceding ground, seeding ground - URL: https://www.changeout.org/ceding-ground/ - Published: 2021-04-09T07:57:52.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-03T11:21:36.000Z - Description: How long should you stay in your job? - Author: Lucy Caldicott - Tags: blog I’ve been in discussions recently about people staying in their roles for a long time. Knowing when it’s time to move on seems important. I reckon around five years is the optimum time to stay in the same role. The first three years to develop and implement a strategy and two years to see it embedded. And then maybe it’s time to start looking for the next thing and hand the reins to someone else. But there are lots of people who seem to stay and stay and stay. It’s not uncommon for CEOs and senior leaders in the voluntary sector to remain in situ for ten-fifteen years and upwards. I’m not sure how you make sure you stay fresh when you’ve been doing the same job for twenty years. This phenomenon is covered in this important article about the role of white women in international development organisations in upholding unequal status quo: [The limits of feminist solidarity](https://woc123.medium.com/the-limits-of-feminist-solidarity-328f1589d420?ref=changeout.org). It’s not easy to share power, let alone to move on. So much of our personal identity can be bound up in the job role we do, but challenging that in ourselves is vital. While I was thinking these thoughts I came up with the idea of ceding ground to allow space for new shoots to grow, hence the name of this week’s edition. A few years ago I had a wonderful trip to the USA’s West Coast, including a few days in Seattle. I was really interested to find [this web site about civil rights in Seattle](https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/index.htm?ref=changeout.org). And [this is a fascinating, if tragic, read](https://zora.medium.com/the-black-mother-of-grunge-who-inspired-nirvana-95886f21eccc?ref=changeout.org) on the Black mother of grunge, Tina Bell, from the band, Bam Bam. How unsurprising that the Black woman has been written out of history 👀 **Interesting and useful links** 🖇️ [Why ambiverts are better leaders](https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders?ref=changeout.org) \- something else for me to worry about not being good enough at! [Bite-sized learning links](https://seechangehappen.co.uk/bite-sized-learning/?ref=changeout.org) on topics such as intersectionality, diversity, trans terminology If you’re recruiting board trustees, [this report](https://tenyearstime.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Missed-Expertise-A-2027-Report-1.pdf?ref=changeout.org) about diversifying the membership is worth reading. > By establishing more reflective, transparent and equitable boards we believe funders will inspire change beyond the sector, due to their unique position in society to influence the behaviour of charities and civil society organisations. **Learning points 🎓** Someone asked me the other day why I use my pronouns she/her in my email signature. [This is a handy explainer.](https://medium.com/gender-inclusivit/why-i-put-pronouns-on-my-email-signature-and-linkedin-profile-and-you-should-too-d3dc942c8743?ref=changeout.org) Credit to [Ruth Davison](https://twitter.com/RuthKDavison?ref=changeout.org) who shared it a few weeks ago. **Day of the Week 📆** I know it was last week but can we get rid of April Fool’s Day? Hate it. **What am I reading? 📚** I’m currently reading [Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee](https://uk.bookshop.org/books/virginia-woolf-9780099732518/9780099732518?ref=changeout.org). Blimey, there’s a lot going on! Here’s a paragraph about her husband Leonard’s work from 1917-1919: ![list of publications by Leonard Woolf 1917-1919](https://storage.ghost.io/c/57/d9/57d97f92-56a7-4c97-8c12-ac77d809cbf1/content/images/public/images/e97e3870-7861-4919-ae3d-5ed37e021acf_2978x1904.jpeg) But even this level of output wasn’t enough as he said in his autobiography: > The world today and the history of the human anthill during the last fifty-seven years would be exactly the same as it is if I had played pingpong instead of sitting on committees and writing books and memoranda…I must have in a long life ground through between 150,000 and 200,000 hours of perfectly useless work.[1](#footnote-1) **What am I watching?** 👀 We watched Blinded by the light, directed by Gurvinder Chadha of Bend It Like Beckham fame, at the weekend. It’s based on Sarfraz Mansoor’s autobiography, [Greetings from Bury Park](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/may/27/biography.features?ref=changeout.org), about growing up Pakistani and Muslim in the 1980s, discovering Bruce Springsteen. It’s warm-hearted and moving. **What am I listening to? 👂** I spent July 1989 in France working as an au pair in Fayence a tiny village north of Cannes. The little girl I was there to look after spent a lot of time at summer camp while her mum worked long hours. My main job was to take her to the camp and pick her up so I had lots of time during the day to myself. I worked my way through the music collection which included Miles Davis’ Tutu. I watched a documentary about him, the [Birth of the Cool](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/miles%5Fdavis%5Fbirth%5Fof%5Fthe%5Fcool?ref=changeout.org), on Netflix the other day, and it brought it all back. The incongruity of July in the South of France, listening to jazz. [He wasn’t that nice a man, sadly](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/review-miles-davis-birth-of-the-cool-and-the-problem-of-the-archive?ref=changeout.org) **Joy-giving things 😍** I’ve been on a few long walks with friends over the last week. One included the [Covid 19 Memorial Wall](https://metro.co.uk/2021/03/30/london-volunteers-draw-covid-heart-memorial-on-southbank-wall-14330177/?ref=changeout.org) on Albert Embankment, opposite the Houses of Parliament. ![hearts painted on wall along Thames embankment](https://storage.ghost.io/c/57/d9/57d97f92-56a7-4c97-8c12-ac77d809cbf1/content/images/public/images/edf80d49-d1ea-47c2-a33b-3e8576e5a4ea_4032x3024.jpeg) The walk was joy-giving. The hearts are heart-breaking. Have a lovely weekend Lucy x --- *I've been writing regular blogs since 2020\. If you want to have a look at my back catalogue, they are all* [*here*](https://www.changeout.org/tag/blog/)*.* *If you're wondering whether coaching might help you think through where you are and where you're going next,* [*I'd love to hear from you*](https://bit.ly/coachingwithlucywaitlist?ref=changeout.org)*.* *You can also find me on* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/lucycaldicott?ref=changeout.org)*,* [*Threads*](https://www.threads.com/@lucycaldicott?ref=changeout.org)*, and* [*LinkedIn*](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucycaldicott/?ref=changeout.org)*.* *🎬🎬🎬* [*YouTube*](https://www.youtube.com/@LucyOnLife?ref=changeout.org) *🎬🎬🎬* If you like what you read and you'd like to show your appreciation in cash, you can do that [here](https://ko-fi.com/changeout?ref=changeout.org). I'd be very grateful!