“Please accept this letter as my notice of resignation.” These are my first words of my resignation letter. Am I resigning? Eventually. And I pray not today. But I guess we’ll see - 'Thy Will be done'. Why did I write mine? And why should you write yours? Read on.
I recently finished reading “Succession” by Peter Greer. Peter was caught in a typical downward spiral for those who are passionate about their work - his mission became his mistress. One day his wife said "I don't feel anything for you anymore". Peter took a good hard look at life and decided to begin with the End in Mind. What did he want his wife, children, and organization to say about him post-retirement? So, he wrote his eulogy and his resignation letter and they both stay in the top drawer of his desk to remind him of his temporary assignments.
Similarly, I wrote my resignation letter to remind me of Who is truly in charge, and what my daily charge is to role model health while working hard for a mission that heals others.
The first sentence of this book is “Every leader is an interim leader”. I am interim. You are interim. And since we all have influence over others, we all are leaders.
"The true measure of your leadership is not when you are at the helm, but two years after you're gone. Did your leadership create pathways and an ongoing culture of generational success via succession?"
"First day on the job you are succession planning." I always want to hold loosely the outcomes of the work, let God handle the results, and faithfully look for people to love and lead.
The lessons learned in these case studies are from stories of successions gone well and gone poorly and the impending result on the mission. Succession is one of the most critical moments in an organizations life and in our personal lives. "If we care deeply about the mission of our organization, we will care deeply about what will happen when we’re no longer there." We must plan for and speak openly about it.
What I want to leave behind are many things, but ultimately, it’s that I loved those around me well as the mission. "If you have not Love, you have nothing." I believe, from that outpouring, the mission of loving those well outside of the organization is more functionally, sustainably and strategically achieved. That is part of the Strategic Plan for Thriving Souls. I must learn how to Win at Home First, and Love Well my first ministry, my family. A worker can always be replaced, but the role of a father and husband cannot.
I pray this brief post is an encouragement to all of us to choose our next steps today with the end in mind.
On the Journey With You,
Paul
Here are some other insights from the book, I hope you read it:
Succession Planning is a lot like passing a baton in a relay-race, and there are a couple key tasks that we need to execute well
It's rare for leaders to prepare for the day that they will leave their role. In fact, just 17% of organizations have a documented succession plan. Yet, healthy successions are integral to healthy, long-lasting, and mission-driven organizations. Actively preparing for transition is the best way to ensure that the vitality of the mission lasts well beyond one leader's tenure.
“There is no success without succession. Those two ‘s’ words sit nearly back to back in the dictionary, but sadly, they are often worlds apart in real life. The mission of an organization is never more vulnerable than during a transition in leadership. As much as a decade of focus, momentum, and direction can be lost in this season! And the difference between a successful succession and failure—a fumbled process—can mean life or death for the organization. Leaders and boards carry no greater responsibility than to shepherd well this passing of the baton.
A significant leader looking back at his life as a leader, when asked what would you have done differently, he said, "That's easy, I would have Loved more."
”No matter how much good they do in their leadership roles, it’s not good enough if they don’t successfully pass the baton."
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