Resignation Letter

To the specific question, the doesn't sound at all awkward. Still, I'm not at all sure a letter of resignation is the place for a multi signature manifesto. I would simply state the reason (maybe) and be done with it.

I don't think it's wise to resign for other people. If anyone changes their mind, the letter drafter will look like they are trying to poach the other employees. It creates a ton of ill will and hard feelings tend to last a long time. I would encourage the drafter to simply thank the company/organization for all the help and guidance over years and just state he/she wants to try something different and move in another direction.

Fifteen plus folks resigning en mass on one resignation letter is a little coup-like. I don't know what the working situation is for all the people, but it might be better not to burn any bridges, you never know when you might need the other company and a more graceful exit might be best in the long run. At some point in the4 future the new organization may want to cooperate with the original organization and vice versa. Cooperation between competitors can be beneficial for both organizations.

That's probably what I should have said.

You said the same thing in a more concise fashion, I'm just a blabbermouth and am seldom concise.

There is that, I suppose

Really, you made a couple of points I passed over.

You are a lovely man Roger.

I would keep the resignation letter short and from you only. No need to explain why or give any hint about your future plans to start another association. (There could be legal problems with that)

OK, a little more info from a conversation yesterday...

The association consists of about 240 members, guided in artistic development (painters, sculptors, dancers, singers, other musicians, choreographers, writers, etc.) by better-experienced senior artists. None are particularly "famous" per say, but known well enough in their own locales.

The president/owner inherited the position from her father who created the association with the concept that free sharing of ideas and artistic ability will encourage artistic growth in other societies.

About 15 seniors around the world own small galleries, teach classes in local schools, contribute artworks to their local societies, take on private students, perform freely for local events, etc.

She (owner) has begun to use the association as a platform to proselytize for her religious, political, and personal philosophical beliefs. She wants the artwork produced within the association to reflect her views.

Of 240 members, 236 follow the senior exec who is resigning.

There are no contracts or such, so no breach of contract is made. Everything was voluntary.

So -- nearly the entire association is quitting her. She will be left with herself and 3 members in her studio -- who may decide to join the others at a later date.

Members are not breaking away from the association -- it seems the association is "breaking her away". In short she is being ousted and replaced, but my friend is not considering any position as owner or president, etc. She is going to keep the association name, etc., they will simply relocate and rename. He (friend) does not want a position or title, just freedom to express art as he/they feel it.

Back to his original question -- does the final line seem appropriate (and appropriately worded), or should she find out piecemeal and by herself that she just lost the association (actually, he hasn't tendered his resignation yet, maybe later this month)?

it is awkward

it might be best for everyone to send their own letter - or at least everyone in each location

they can use his format but send it under their own names

Good idea -- but they are members under his direction, not hers. They "belong" to the association only in a loose way under him, and he is an actual trustee. So he wants to name the 15 seniors under him. They in turn have their own members under them, but all following his direction.

It's a bit complicated when it comes to art; he just want everyone to have a free hand in deciding how to express themselves, that's all. They have known and followed him for many years already.

As a trustee, I guess he is the only one who CAN resign. So far he has spoken face-to-face via Skype to about 8 of the senior members under him, and they agree to follow and back him up. They have met her before and came away highly unsatisfied. They asked him to sign for them...

Maybe 7 more to speak to, but he feels they will agree too. Before he resigns, he wants to make sure.

He also told them they have freedom to stay with her if they wish, or to resign along with him.

If I were you, I'd ask this person to throw away the resignation letter and start over. From what you're describing, it's a coup d etat expressly to cause panic and harm to the existing entity. At least make an attempt to be amicable.

http://www.americanrecruiters.com/news-home/resignation-letter-samples/

There are certain do's and don't's to leaving a position and your "friend" is unnecessarily burning bridges that may need help down the road. Did he even discuss leaving the position with the owner? Or is he planning on leaving her high and dry, taking the best and the brightest with him? The owner's father started the business, that has clout even if you think it doesn't.

A short sighted letter airing complaints isn't how business is supposed to be conducted. You can't "quit" for other people. It's just not how it's done. A simple resignation letter is straight to the point, with out blame or justification of perceived wrongs.

in that case the other people's names should definitely not be included

the letter should be as neutral as possible

Thanks, I will pass your message to him. There is no money exchange in this at all. It's not a business or a company. There is nothing being bought or sold. It's a loosely-organized group pursuing their arts for the love of their arts (true "amateurs"), whose purpose was originally to exchange ideas and concepts, and share their art or crafts with their local communities. All are free to come and go as they wish. No one can be "fired" because no one is really "hired". They have been held together for so many years by simple mutual friendship and appreciation for each other's work.

The only "suffering" the owner might feel is a blow to her ego.

His letter is mostly a courtesy, considering that he was not only a co-founder, but a great friend to her father (the other co-founder). It's not a litany of complaints, no "wrongs" are cited, no "blames" are placed. He simply states there are artistic differences to pursue in a healthy manner, and he thanks her for her understanding and support over the years.

He only asked me to look at the last line in particular because the entire group (minus 3) prefer his leadership over hers, and they asked him to put their names to it (the letter).

If the association didn't exist tomorrow, probably no one outside of it would even notice.

Well it sounds as if you think his original tactic is fine. A few folks have cautioned a more delicate approach, but if the person who wants to sever ties is not concerned about the other person’s ego being bruised, maybe his blunt approach would work better.

It actually doesn’t matter if money is involved, when you decide to sever a relashionship thru a formal correspondence, the wording you choose makes you either a respectful individual or someone who is happy to shatter the sense of well-being of the other. Makes no difference to me or probably the others, but I know what I would think if a friend or associate showed me a letter from one of his/her Dad’s old friends notifying them they were about to lose everything their Dad created and his old partner was taking everybody with him.

Your friend can leave for whatever reason he has, if it’s no longer a good fit he needs to separate. But how he leaves will speak volumes about him and not the organization he’s leaving. Totally up to him.

All I can tell you is I wouldn’t allow another person to sign a resignation letter for me even if I was cancelling a newspaper subscription.

no

big no

if they want to send her a message, they need to do it themselves

he can send his message but adding the other names would be inappropriate and unkind

Just to pile on after ehbeth, an unkind act memorialized on paper tends to haunt you. There is no explanation you can provide that will make those unkind remarks seem ok. Every industry talks, a tidbit like that will be passed along forever.

Just sent him the later reply and got off Skype with him a few minutes ago.

She makes it a point to insult and offend every visiting artist who comes by with him. She berates them and speaks rudely to them about their art, their lack of balance in dance, their poor choice of colors, their bad photography, all in all their total lack of skill, while speaking quite highly of her three members in her gallery, and most highly of herself and her depth of understanding of what "real art" is.

She cannot dance, sing, paint, or write. She plays no musical instrument. She shows no artistic ability at all. She is one of the people who "don't know art but I know what I like". She has run the credibility of her father's association into the ground. What she does have is the complete list of all her father's c0ntacts in the music ands art world. And she knows how to talk to them.

My friend put up with this for years out of respect for his friend, her father. The 200+ members I mentioned earlier was well over 1000 members and over 40 small studios and galleries scattered across the world. A huge majority left the association to start their own, or simply quit trying to improve their art altogether after a discouraging meeting with her (no, they did not submit courtesy letters of resignation)...

Her father Luc -- a former dancer/choreographer with the Paris Ballet in his younger years, a ballet and piano teacher in his middle age, and in his older years founded his association to encourage talent and artistry in young people.

My friend Thomas -- known him since HS (though we went to separate high schools -- we met in the Youth Symphony Orchestra). I was Best Man at his wedding. We joined the USAF together and were assigned separately. I went to Panama, he went to Germany, we never met again for 20 years until after retirement. Former dance instructor for a large branch of the old Fred Astaire Dance Studio in New York. Plays violin much better than I ever could, teaches dance and violin (apparently he and the founder met at Radio City Music Hall during some performance, I don't have the whole story). At my age (65) he still cuts carpet in the ballroom, and plays a mean fiddle (and gives spectacular classical performance too).

More later, I am off to class...

Well, fine by me. He wants permission to resign?... he doesn’t need my advice or permission. All he has to say is “She deserved to be treated badly because she treated everyone else badly”. Done and done. It will probably be just fine, it sounds like a different universe than the one I reside in. Im restrained by other elements of social interactions....I don’t perform musically any longer, so I beg off. Let the dancers, fiddlers, painters, actors decide the way they wish to communicate with the rest of the artistic spectrum.

Sadly, I live in a different more restrained atmosphere where cooperation is valued not scorned. Tell you friend to blast away and not forget to tell her everyone else thinks she’s a jerk as well. Maybe he will derive a great deal of psychic income...............hopefully that will restore his sense of self.

And as long as none of these artists ever need to be hired for work by non-artists...everything is hunky dorey.

Hi again.

(sigh)

Does anyone have an answer regarding the wording of the last line that leads into the list of names? I personally don't feel it's a great idea since they can probably tell her themselves in their own way when she contacts them about managing a show or contributing artworks to a local cause, etc. I told Thomas this, but that's about all that has come from this thread so far that's constructive...

He's 50/50 about listing names now, even though they asked him to put their names on the letter to show their support for his decision.