Never Too Early

In the previous blog, I looked at the consequences of announcing a leader’s retirement too early, as well as some ideas on the appropriate timing. Even though it is possible to have the specific transition discussion too soon, it’s always appropriate to lay the groundwork for the conversation. “Laying the groundwork” means asking (and answering) questions such as:

• Do we have the necessary processes to guide us in a leadership transition? In other words, do we know how we would choose the next leader?
• If we had to make a transition today (due to the unexpected departure of our current leader), what would we do?
• Is our current leader still effective? Every time that I have the transition conversation, a leader tells me, “I don’t want to stay too long.” One safeguard is for the governing body to create a process in which they have a thorough, honest annual conversation about the leader’s effectiveness.
• Are we developing the next tier of leaders? Regardless of whether or not the first chair leader is close to retirement, a church or ministry should be developing other leaders.

These are the kinds of questions that effective executive teams, elders, or boards should discuss periodically. Having the conversation may be uncomfortable at times, but not nearly as uncomfortable as dealing with these issues in the midst of an unexpected transition. So when’s the last time that your team addressed these questions? It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>