What is a credible exit threat?
Having a credible exit threat means that you have a credible option to choose an alternative to staying in a situation that is unsatisfactory to you at the expense of those who depend on you. In other words, a credible exit threat is when someone threatens another with the entirely possible option of leaving or “exiting.”
For example, let’s say that Tom Brady is really good. The owners of the New England Patriots want to cut Tom Brady’s salary by 1 million dollars and add that money to their own salary. Tom Brady knows that the he is a star quarterback and that the owners of the Patriots rely on him to make the team successful. As a result, Tom Brady could easily threaten to sign his next contract with the Rams instead, since he knows they would love to have him on their team and pay him more than the Patriots would.
Image via Times Magazine
There is power in having a credible exit threat. Since Tom Brady can totally find another team that would pay him what he wants, he knows the Patriots will do whatever they can to make him happy and keep him on the team. Tom Brady doesn’t care about what team he plays for; he cares about money. So if the New England Patriots want to keep the benefits of having Tom Brady on their team (which they do in this case), then they will pay the price he asks.
Image via Reddit
You can make successful exit threats if you:
a) have credible means to exit.
b) know how valuable you are.
An example of a non-credible exit threat would be if when a child threatens his mom to run away if she doesn’t take him to Chuck E. Cheese’s. This exit threat is empty because running away from home is not a credible option for the child; he can’t survive on his own. His mom knows that he relies on his parents to provide for his needs like food, water, shelter, and protection. Obviously, the child is not going to run away. He can threaten to run away all he wants, but his mom knows it’s not actually going to work out for him, so she’s probably not going to take him to Chuck E. Cheese’s if she doesn’t want to. (Besides, that place is irrelevant these days)
Image via Guff
If you have a credible exit threat, others who are dependent on you will bend to fit you. That doesn’t mean you should use this power to bully people, because that’s a bad thing to do and it will just make everyone hate you. Instead, use this to not allow others to control you. Having a credible exit threat can protect you from harm by people who want to take advantage of you. Realize your worth, and don’t stand for mistreatment and abuse.
The more an individual depends on others, the less control that individual has over a situation. Always be capable of independence, and you will always have a credible exit threat.