90 Second Leadership – Usual Transitions vs. Ideal Transitions
Today I want to talk to you about succession. I want to talk to you about the usual transition, and then I want to talk to you about the ideal transition.
What usually happens in an organization when someone decides to think about ramping down is they choose a successor. The problem is that they spend way too much time continuing to do the work of their role. So on a graph, majority of the time used is on continuing their work. Next, they have the opportunity to begin to develop someone. On that same graph, this amount of time is small compared to the time spent continuing to do the work of their role. And finally, they are creating a life worth living outside of ministry and the church. This time is also small in comparison to time spent continuing to do the work of their role. In many cases, they never really spend time creating a life worth living outside of ministry, so they continue to go go go.
Ideally though, the situation would look more equal. They are spending a third of the time doing the same work that I have been doing the whole time. They are spending a third of the time developing people or the person that is replacing them. And finally, they are spending a third of their time creating a life worth living outside of ministry. That could mean transitioning to a new role or retiring, whatever it may be. This is the time spent building something that is worth transitioning to.
So whether you’re in a transition right now, or you know someone that is, you can either apply this or share it. What are you going to do about it?
