When I stepped up to lead the organization in 2018, I was told by my predecessor: “Start looking for your successor”. Good advice, but there’s more to it than that. I’ve been involved in many organizations over the years and have had the opportunity to see how succession goes when an organization needs for that to happen. In some cases, I was a bystander watching it unfold and, in a few others, I was directly involved in finding or helping find a successor. I think the type of organization (corporate or non-profit volunteer) and the role they are filling usually affects how much effort and planning go into the selection process. Some organizations treat this as an afterthought: “Oh Well, so-and-so is retiring. We need to replace them”. I think that is shortsighted.
One of the best organizations to handle succession planning that I have seen is the Akron-Area AITP. Perhaps this is the board-centered approach of running an organization like we do. Here’s what we generally do: About once a year, we devote some effort (meeting time) to talking about who is going to lead the organization and who is going to be on the board next year. It is usually a lively discussion. Having an active, engaged board is really important. We also spend time talking about the jobs that need to be done to keep the organization running. “Hats to wear” I call it. I believe that people should trade hats (change up responsibilities) frequently as this helps them learn more through cross-training. And that’s why we are here, right? To Learn and Grow Professionally.
I have also seen other organizations stumble and fall in the succession planning area. In some cases, the people involved who should have been working on their own succession planning didn’t want to let go. When you don’t get enough turnover in organizational leadership, things tend to stagnate and innovation is stifled. New blood = new ideas, and that is what keeps an organization fresh and relevant.
Here at the Akron-Area AITP, we try to rotate members on and off the board. I think we do a fairly good job of it. The idea is to serve long enough to make a difference and get to know things, but not too long that someone else can’t share their ideas as well. Another major hazard in recent years is that many organizations have fewer active members in which to draw from a talent pool for leadership roles. Unfortunately, I don’t have any solutions to the declining membership problem.
I think that the current formula for succession planning seems to be working for the Akron-Area AITP. We still exist and continue to re-invent ourselves, even after 70 years.