Three Critical Performance Management Tips for a Smooth Succession
Three Critical Performance Management Tips for a Smooth Succession
It’s August 21, 2008. The setting is Beijing National Stadium—the 2008 Olympics.
Nearly 100,000 people cheer as the U.S. Men’s 4 x 100-meter relay team walk out on to the track. Before long, the gun blasts and the runners take off. Everything starts as it should for the dominant American team.
But, then, the worst happens.
Tyson Gay reaches back to take the baton from Darvis Patton, but nothing is there. In what should have been a textbook handoff, the aluminum falls precipitously to the track.
Race over.
The U.S. is going home.… This is what it looks like to drop the baton in transition—literally. Weeks, months, and years of preparation all come crashing down in a single moment.
As specialists in business succession and leadership transitions, we’ve seen it too many times. Even though outgoing leaders are ready to pass the baton and successors are eager to receive it, lack of preparation leads to a fumbled transition.
And, 70% of the time, that fumble ends up knocking the business out of the race if it’s a family business.
This is why outgoing business leaders need to communicate with their successors about the future and prepare for the role—specifically around how the former expects the latter to perform in their new role. When the transition is made, performance management conversations are critical to ensuring that the successor has the support and guidance needed to perform at their best for the long-term benefit of the company.
Does your successor understand your expectations? Are they ready to receive the baton?
Tips for a Smooth Succession
Outgoing leaders must balance space and support by working their way out of leadership without leaving the new leader completely unsupported;
Expectations must be defined by way of concrete benchmarks so that successors can be objectively measured and held accountable for their performance; and
Outgoing leaders should encourage innovation as a necessary element in the company’s ongoing success, yet do so without undermining the firm’s legacy and tradition.
If you're not sure about navigating a business’ succession journey, get in touch.
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