Mike 
Several months ago, I heard a presentation on leadership transitions in churches. The speaker used the analogy of a 4×100 meter relay race in track. In that event, each successive runner starts a few steps before his teammate arrives, hoping to be close to full speed by the time the baton is passed. This is unquestionably the fastest way to run the race. And it’s a terrible analogy for leadership transitions.
The implication of the analogy is that a church (or any other organization) should be able to make this important transition without slowing down, without any loss of momentum or change in direction. That is simply not possible. The transition to a new leader takes significant time and energy, and which means that time and energy is siphoned away from advancing the mission of the church or organization. The resource drain in a transition can be lessened when the incoming leader has a style and vision that are similar to the outgoing leader, when the organization is healthy, and when the transition is managed well. But you should never expect to experience the hand-off at full-speed.
Now that I have critiqued the relay race analogy, let me point out 3 ways that this picture is helpful:
- If the runners drop the baton as they make the handoff, the team is disqualified. Relay teams try to avoid this by practicing their handoffs. You can’t “practice” a leadership transition, but you can work hard to plan and to deal with the inevitable wrinkles.
- In the relay race, the two runners are almost alongside each other for a short time. In a leadership transition, a period of overlap between the outgoing and incoming leader can produce learning that leads to a smoother handoff. In cases where this is not possible, the leadership body (board, elders, etc.) should actively seek to facilitate this kind of learning.
- In the relay, the time for the handoff is not lengthy. Leaders shouldn’t let the time for their transition linger.
