Reflections
Future-Proofing Leadership: Why Succession Cannot Wait
By Fawzia Ali-Kimanthi
In 2023, in a space of six months, two of my direct reports resigned. Six months later, the successor to one of these direct reports also resigned. It was a moment of deep reflection. You will ask why? The answer is simple. I felt like I was losing my family. It triggered self-doubt for a moment. I asked myself a few questions- did I fail them, could I have done something more to keep them? I cared about them deeply.
As leaders we subconsciously equate team stability with good leadership, and resignations with leadership weakness. So, a departure feels like a dent in our identity even when it is just life moving on.
However, there is a great model that I learnt in a leadership training recently. The E. T. C. Model. This model is useful in helping leaders assess a situation more objectively( basically helps leaders get out of the box).
The‘ E’ refers to emotion. When faced with a situation, one must acknowledge how they feel. I felt a sense of loss, I felt sad.
The full stop symbolizes an opportunity to pause and breathe.
The‘ T’ refers to Truth. It guides one to enumerate what is true of the situation, for instance, I was keen to know where my team leads were moving on to, were these great opportunities. I had long conversations with each of them. One was taking a bigger broader international assignment. Another was going to grow his business. He is a hardcore entrepreneur. And the third was going to lead a department in another business. All of them were taking their careers to the next level and the opportunities were really amazing. Acknowledging the truth forces us as leaders to see things from the other persons perspective. Sometime, due to the gravity of the impending change, we focus too much on ourselves and what it means without considering the opportunities for the other person. They were growing, they were progressing. And I could not stand in the way.
And finally,‘ C’ refers to the choice we then must make. In this case, I chose to support their transition by first negotiating for time to allow for proper hand overs to be done and of course an accelerated process to identify a successor. For those moving to the next level of leadership, I supported with coaching time with an expert to help them navigate their new journey.
As I had mentioned, I had both the team lead and successors leaving the organization. We therefore filled the position using the usual competitive hiring process. Happy to report that the new leaders, after going through the usual transition and accelerated learning journey, have comfortably settled well into their roles. As with all leaders, coaching and regular check ins continue to ensure that they are pushing the boundaries and performing at their best.
This experience is the inspiration for my article on succession planning. Here are key considerations for good succession planning, whether you are running a corporate team, an SME or a large organization.
Succession planning is not a contingency exercise- it is a strategic commitment to continuity, resilience and long-term value creation. When we invest in succession, we invest in people and when people are prepared, the future is no longer uncertain. Succession planning makes the legacy of great leaders and the legacy of growth and longevity of organizations possible.
Identify critical roles
Review all the roles and identify those roles that are essential for business continuity, performance and long-term success. Further consider roles with scarce or specialist skills e. g. data scientists, cyber security experts, pricing specialists, skilled compliance officers, etc. If these roles remain vacant or perform poorly, the organization immediately feels the impact.
Competency Mapping
Define the skills, behaviors and experience needed to succeed in each
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