Succeed at Succession

The word succession gets coupled with other great words and phrases like retirement, “finishing well,” “shared leadership,” progression and relay to name a few.

Succession gets bandied about in sports, politics, and management.

Once associated with an official transfer of power from one leader to the next (in a particular, pre-determined order) now it is more likely to be heard as a way of planning for the future for a team, a party, or an organization. '

The other time we hear about it is when we experience the absence of good leadership succession.

• A game winning quarter back past his prime

• A glass-ceiling-breaking politician who can’t step aside in her old age

• A start studded leader who loses vision, disappears from view, or devolves into high control and low effectiveness.

As a human and as a management consultant I think a lot about succession and its absence. I get that some people stay for the paycheck. Or because the job seems to be the only use of their skill, or that “there’s no one else to do the job.”

And my concerns are of course not applied to those rare “long-suffering, still producing, still inspiring” leaders that are literally irreplaceable.

Because I beleive that we should — as much as possible— use our unique giftedness and make our unique cotributions, there’s another way of looking at our work. What if we saw our life as a relay…one opportunity or context moves to another over time in various ages and stages of our life and for the organizations that we love and are committed to?

Sadly, we more often see a second rate reality: A leader who stays too long costs an organization, team, or party more than their paycheck. My assessment is that what is lacking is a strong self-management—stemming from poor self-knowledge or self-awareness. If you aren’t clear about what you contribute (in the best most positive way) you are likely to be similarly unclear when you stop contributing. Leaders who are not seeing themselves clearly also often are unable to see their team or the vision of the organization in the most effective way. They miss seeing a team member ready to advance, a hole worth filling, or a new area of expansion that doesn’t include you on the spread sheet. The secret sauce is the right amount of positive self-understanding dosed with proper recognition of what you don’t have.

How will you know when it is your time to pass the baton? Self-management requires time apart to listen to your life, to reflect. A good friend and cheerleader will tell you that you’ve done a good job. A trusted advisor will point out when you could offer an opportunity to a colleague or a promising partner. A valuable mentor will gently point out how you may not be contributing as well as you once did. Your job: listen to yourself, to your friend, to your coach and to your mentor. Its ok if you are done and even more rewarding when you step aside and watch the fruit of your contribution as it grows and bears more fruit under someone else’s hand.

#succession #leadership #contribution #stewardship #self-management