What it is
The transfer principle: leadership doesn’t vanish when someone steps away from it. It transfers to whoever is still standing there. If the parent checks out, a kid picks it up. If the manager disappears, the most responsible person on the team inherits the job without the title.
Opting out of leadership is still a decision about who leads.
How it shows up for me
I’ve been the one left standing, and I’ve been the one who walked off and let someone else carry it. Knowing the weight always lands somewhere makes it harder for me to pretend I’m “just staying out of it.”