When a Hard-Charging CEO Leaves

Last week, Mohamed el-Erian finally broke his silence on why he left Pimco, one of the world's biggest investment funds.

He decided to share his reasons with me in front of a live audience on Bloomberg Television. (You can watch the full interview here.)

Knowing Mohamed, a public figure with a very private life, it couldn't have been easy. His departure and split from founder Bill Gross turned into the kind of schadenfreude usually reserved for Hollywood celebrities and politicians. Rarely are bond fund managers so interesting to talk about.

Turns out, there are several interesting aspects to Mohamed's departure. While many of us won't be multi-million dollar CEOs when we leave our jobs, we can still learn from his public exit:

1. It's Important to be Genuine: By the time Mohamed came on our air, the investment world already knew he'd butted heads with Gross and Gross himself had declared, on our air beforehand, that he wanted to know why Mohamed left. While Mohamed did not give people the behind-the-scenes dirt, he did give the most genuine answer he could which was he wanted to spend more time with his daughter. “You realize there are special moments in your children’s life,” El-Erian said. “I was missing too many of these special moments. It is that simple.” As CEO, he was sleeping 4-5 hours a night and in the office by 4:30 am everyday. After his daughter gave him a list of 22 events he'd missed in the past year, Mohamed decided it was time to "lean out" and quit his job. So think about the next time someone asks why you left your job or why the job left you - being as genuine in your answer as possible will go a long way.

2. Don't Disparage Your Prior Employer: As tempting as it may have been to take a few swipes at Gross, Mohamed would not be drawn in. And believe me, I tried. Instead, what he did was find the one thing that he could say that was true about Bill Gross, which was he thought he was one of the best investors in the world. Of course, what's left unsaid is a story for another day and maybe when the embers have cooled, Mohamed will feel comfortable enough to reveal more. But in the meantime, let that be a tip for us all - no matter how unpleasant a relationship or how difficult your prior job was, find something positive you can genuinely say and that will put a lot of other questions to rest.

3. Relationships Matter: I received many calls and emails after congratulating me for getting the exclusive interview with Mohamed. These kinds of "gets" are never a product of short-term requests but a culmination of a longstanding relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee. Mohamed has appeared on my program for years. We share emails every week about this or that story and he will forward me his op-eds for my own knowledge. We talk about football - he's a Jets fan, I'm an Eagles fan - and our kids. We do so knowing there is always the subtext that he is my source and I am a reporter. Relationships like this take years to nurture and they almost always do not happen when the only time you contact the person is because you want something from them. As I always tell people when they ask me how to network, a relationship is something that develops organically and it has to be rewarding for the other person, too. And maybe one day, it will reward you back in a way you never quite expected.

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Betty Liu is Editor-at-Large/Anchor of "In the Loop" on Bloomberg Television Mondays-Fridays from 8-10 am ET. She is the author of the new book, "Work Smarts: What CEOs Say You Need to Know to Get Ahead." You can buy a copy at Amazon.com or get signed copies at www.betty-liu.com.