Plan To Be Your Own Successor

Imagine you just found out you were being replaced. Somebody new is being brought in to take over your job and your responsibilities. But don’t look at it from your own perspective. Consider the freedom that person will have to take a new look at everything you’re doing and the contributions of everyone who works on your team, and to be able to make changes.

Now suppose that successor was YOU.

It’s easy to get so invested in a team, department or company you’ve built that you become an apologist for, and a defender of, its practices and its people.

By contrast, your successor coming into the very same job has no such limitations on his thinking. He’ll come in and take a fresh look around. Ask a lot of questions: “You guys are doing what? Why?” Make some bold changes in the work: “Let’s stop doing that. Start doing this.” Make organizational and staffing moves: “We don’t need three teams organized by function. Two teams set up to provide full service might work better. Move Ray and Fiona along to something for which they’re better suited. Promote Chelsea and Josh to team leads.”

You don’t have to wait to be replaced to do “Succession Thinking.” You can start doing it today with your own “Successor’s Audit:”

• How are your people spending their time?
• What are the primary deliverables of your organization?
• How are they connected to the goals of the larger organization?
• How well are you fulfilling that mission?
• What’s your organizational structure?
• Who are the people in key management positions? Are they delivering what’s needed?
• How are you spending your time? Are there things you should be doing that you’re not? What should you delegate or stop doing altogether?
• How do you get your information about what’s really going on? Are you getting what you need?

The result of this exercise could be a substantial revamping of your team. Or, more likely, you’ll start by making a few changes you expect to have a significant impact and see what happens.

A successor’s “newbie” status confers the freedom to look at things from a fresh perspective. You can have it too! Imagine you’re taking over your team today and make Succession Thinking a part of your regular work.