English Translation
He always talks as though he knows how to handle himself but you never know how he’ll act when the chips are down.
This is actually a great free translation from Tanaka Corpus (田中コーパス), which contains so many problematic flaws.
- 出処進退 means “to remain in the current professional position or resign”.
- 潔さ means “nobleness”.
- わきまえる (or sometimes 弁える) means “to make a reasonable judgement based on ethical principles”.
出処進退の潔さをわきまえている as a set phrase is “he equips himself with deep understanding of integrity so that he can make a decent decision on his resignation without any hesitation”.