Leadership comes with a thousand unspoken questions, but this one sits quietly under so many conversations with principals: How do you know when it’s time to leave?

I don’t mean leave in frustration or because of a hard week, a critical email, or a disappointing board meeting. But leave because the assignment has shifted, the grace has lifted, and God is inviting you into a new season.

It’s a question I’ve wrestled with myself this year. And maybe you have too. Here is what I have learned…

1. Pay attention to the grace.

There are seasons where the work is heavy, but the grace is still there—you find strength that isn’t your own, peace that shouldn’t make sense, and clarity that keeps you rooted.

And then there are seasons where the grace begins to lift. Not suddenly…but subtly.

You feel it in the way decisions drain you instead of sharpening you, your joy thins out faster than it replenishes, and the work that once lit you up now feels like something you’re carrying alone.

But grace doesn’t disappear; it redirects.

2. Listen to the quiet invitations.

God often whispers before He moves.

Sometimes the invitation comes through restlessness that isn’t rooted in fatigue but in calling. Sometimes it comes through wise counsel—voices that say, “Your gifts are stretching beyond this place,” or, “You’re holding space where someone else is meant to grow.”

Sometimes it’s about making room.

3. Look for the fruit—and the ceiling.

While serving in leadership, you will have moments when you realize you have given all that you were called to give.

The culture is healthier. Students are growing. Systems are stronger. People are ready. And staying would mean maintaining rather than multiplying.

God’s calling never shrinks. It expands.

4. Discern the difference between discomfort and release.

Discomfort is normal. Discomfort grows us. Discomfort is part of leadership.

Release feels different. Release feels like peace rising in places where fear used to live, surrender instead of strain, and a holy nudge that says, “You don’t need to carry this anymore.”

5. Leave with blessing, not bitterness.

When it is time, God doesn’t invite us to exit quietly or resentfully.

He invites us to leave with gratitude, humility, and blessing, honoring the people, stories, and work that have shaped us.

Leaving well is leadership, too.

As for me…

I’ve been writing this blog for several years now, and it has been one of the great joys of my ministry and leadership journey. Walking with other Christian educators through the real, unfiltered questions of the work has stretched my heart and strengthened my faith.

Recently, the Christian Educators team shared that they’re heading in a new direction, and the blog has run its course. As I prayed about that shift, I sensed a deep peace—confirmation that this, too, was a release. Not a loss, but a completion. A closing of one assignment so that space could open for whatever God is preparing next.

So while this will be my final post in the Ask A Principal Anything series, it doesn’t come from a place of disappointment. It comes from a place of gratitude for the years of conversation, the stories entrusted to me, and the chance to serve leaders who are doing holy and hard work every single day.

Thank you for trusting me with your questions, struggles, and victories. You have been a gift.

And as you discern your own seasons—where to stay, when to grow, how to lead—I pray you feel God’s grace guiding you just as clearly.