This topic is immediately relevant for me and I will be writing a longer article about this (which you will find at HR.com when finished). I use this blog entry-and perhaps others-to get started and organize my thoughts. (Ain´t blogging great? Public forums for private Post-ItTM notes!)The immediate relevance is this: I have just become President of a chapter of a national professional association. While becoming president was expected (as I was to be President-Elect this year beginning June 1), becoming president immediately was not. Due to a wonderful, unexpected career opportunity made available to our incoming President, he had to resign his newly-elected and hard-earned position as our chapter president. Two weeks passed between "I might have to resign my position; are you ready?" and "With this letter I submit my resignation". In those two weeks, while out of town part of the time, I had some major thinking, planning, and communicating to do both within the organization I was about to lead and with my family whose time and attention would be negatively impacted.
The short of it is that the transition goes well so far. This is, in no small part, due to the entire Board of Directors working together over the past few years, contributing to and owning a stake in the vision, goals, and objectives of the organization. Each of us has held leadership positions outside this particular organization. Each of us either runs our own business or is in a management decision-making position in a company or government agency. Each of us has been preparing to assume greater responsibilities in this organization over the years. More importantly, we encourage our members to get actively involved in committee and leadership roles across the organization, creating a pipeline of leaders ready to assume board positions when their times arise.
What does all this mean to Organizational Development? Succession planning! We are practicing the succession planning that is necessary in most organizations today. Typically, succession planning involves the top-level management team-who will succeed the outgoing CEO or President of a company? As generational changes occur over the next few years with Baby Boomer top management retiring, a resource drain takes place if the knowledge and experiences of those leaving is not passed on to those rising to leadership positions. Succession plans must involve all levels of the organization to maintain a continual resource pool for leadership across all areas.
Organizations must establish the plans, obtain the resources, and create the experiences for their people to help them get ready to be ready for leadership opportunities when they present themselves.
Even this blogging forum allows me to get ready to be ready to write the longer article I intend to write on this topic. But don´t look for the article in the next week or two. I´m digging out of the pile of "stuff" involved in my sudden ascendancy to President. I am now putting into action the "be ready" part of the equation. And look at this experience from now until next June 1 as getting ready to be ready for future challenges and opportunities that await me in life.
Sylvia
