Too Early to Tell (Part 1)

Leadership transition is a huge issue that many churches and other ministries will face in the next few years. After an iconic, long-tenured pastor or leader retires, organization often struggle. In some prominent cases in the past, they never recovered. Ignoring this reality doesn’t diminish the issue – it only makes it more likely that the transition will go poorly. It’s too early to tell if the current generation of high-profile leaders and organizations will learn from history and do things differently. But today, I want to consider a different kind of “too early.” It’s when a leader (or governing body) begins the transition conversation or announces plans too soon. For starters, think about what happens once the retirement/transition discussion becomes public.

• The transition will have a life of its own and will generally become the focus of the church or ministry. The leadership team may say “press ahead,” but staff members, key leaders and volunteers will be distracted. It will be virtually impossible to launch new initiatives.
• The outgoing leader will become a lame duck. He or she will be less able to set direction or make decisions. Other leaders will step into the void or the organization will simply go on autopilot.
• Some key second chair leaders may leave rather than wait to see how they fit with the new first chair.
• If the transition includes a period of overlap between leaders, confusion can arise over who is in charge. While some time for the handoff can be a tremendous gift to the incoming leader, this must be managed carefully and intentionally.

Clearly, the consequences of announcing too early are significant. So when should you communicate an upcoming transition? In the next blog, I’ll offer three practical guidelines as well as some thoughts on what to do if you have already jumped the gun. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>