In 2015, after about 10 years of managing, I decided to stop. Letting go of the managerial position is hard, sometimes it feels wrong, but I found it liberating. Being able to lead without authority seems much harder than being the boss. However, the challenge is both motivating as well as rewarding. And the biggest surprise is that letting go of direct subordinates allows you to influence much more people. WIIFM - not everyone can or should be a manager. There are other ways to influence and do more.