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When the חזן has finished the prayers and a mourner is saying קדיש, at what point is it correct for him to remove his טלית (if he is wearing one) and leave the עמוד?
On the one hand it seems respectful to stay until the mourner has finished - on the other it seems that the חזן is waiting to get the praise for his prayers.
I have no source other than my teachers(' Mesorah?), but I was taught, and I believe, that it is proper for the חזן to wait until after the completion of the קדיש.
It seems to me that, rather than waiting for praise, he is preventing distraction, and his presence and staid stance at the עמוד help to maintain the decorum through the last words of the קדיש.
AFAIK, the mourner is temporarily the Shaliach Tzibbur while saying Kaddish -- in a sense, he is taking over for the Chazzan -- and the t'filah is not complete until Kaddish is said. Hence, the Chazzan should stand where he was and answer Kaddish just like the rest of the tzibbur -- just as it is not ideal for any member of the tzibbur to remove his talis and/or walk away from the davening before that davening is complete, the Chazzan should not do so, especially as (despite the concept of "mima'amakim" implying he should be below the geographic/physical level of the tzibbur) he is usually the most visible member of the tzibbur.
