Hi Deb.  What a great story and what great questions!  I appreciate your self-reflection and transparency.

Your last question in particular got me:

"Do you think it is possible for a leader to hold a position for a long time and remain effective, innovative, and frankly awesome?  If so, what do they need to do to make this happen?"

I think it IS possible for a leader to stay in a position for a long time and remain effective if they are rigorous about staying current, staying humble, and role-modeling change.  Even then, it's probably still a good idea to put new leadership in place at some reasonable pace to truly keep things fresh and growing.

Great post!
Mary