Marks of a ministry positioned to succeed in succession (Part 1).
Your leadership is exercised within an existing environment that is unique in its context.
No two ministries are the same, and yet, I have found that ministries that sustained organizational health during succession processes shared a series of characteristics (consisting of certain organizational biases and behaviours).
These shared characteristics marked a ministry well-positioned to succeed in succession.
Succeeding in succession required a process which was started in each of these ministries before a change in leadership was expected.
Long before these ministries experienced a change in leadership, each one recognized that leadership is stewardship but for a season.
I also found that these ministries framed their succession process differently. Not only was their context unique, but so was their succession process.
There were, however, common organizational biases and behaviours observed in each of these ministries. Together these characteristics pointed to a ministry positioned to succeed in succession.
The primary characteristic of a ministry well-suited to sustain organizational health was an intentional mindset with a culture of trust. Not only was this intentional mindset frequently mentioned as I met with various leaders in these ministries, every senior leader, preceding leader, board member, and management team member spoke of its importance. Within these ministries, there was an organizational bias that readily accepted that every leader will eventually step out of their role. Long before these ministries experienced a change in leadership, each one recognized that leadership is stewardship but for a season. In response to this reality, these ministries and their leaders had determined to take steps to help position the ministry for sustained health. Directly connected to their recognition that leadership is a stewardship and this intentional mindset is an expectation that leaders are responsible to lead ministries toward God’s purposes. These ministries prioritized having individuals in positions of leadership who had experienced a profound sense of calling to lead the ministry prior to stepping into their role.
Leadership was highly valued in this ministries.
There was also a deep sense of appreciation for those leading. Leaders in these ministries were acknowledged and affirmed.
In these ministries, there was a high degree of trust and confidence in their leaders. Their leaders were consistently meeting their trust-related expectations.
The leaders of these ministries shared a confidence in the leadership.
This shared confidence seemed to be connected to a strong sense of clarity in purpose, priorities, and leadership roles.
The supporting characteristic observed in these ministries was a missional mindset with a culture of mutual submission and prayerful dependence. These ministries maintained an attentiveness to God’s direction and regularly looked to him for guidance. They genuinely believed God was leading them toward a preferred future and regularly practiced corporate and personal prayer to help maintain their attentiveness to his direction.
These ministries also actively prepared for change (and not simply concerning their senior leader). They valued a responsive posture and were prepared to adapt to advance their mission. In relation to this responsive posture, the leadership of these ministries worked together to discern a way forward when conflict surfaced or disagreements arose. The leadership within these ministries communicated openly with one another. They were appropriately honest and transparent with one another. These ministries were committed to moving forward in faith and did not avoid addressing issues. Nor did they feel they needed to rush through the decision-making process. They took time to work through the process together.
They maintained an attentiveness to God’s direction and regularly looked to him for guidance.
Allow me to ask a couple of questions to help you begin assessing how well you are positioned to succeed in succession:
What strikes you as most significant about these characteristics
Where do you see signs of these characteristics in your ministry?
You may also find this on-demand video series helpful:
An on-demand video series on how succession planning can help ministries advance their mission.
Succeeding In Succession is an on-demand video series on how succession planning can help ministries advance their mission. I designed this series to help leaders and ministries sustain organizational health even as they experience a leadership change.
Everything you need for this series is right here.
There are 10 sessions, plus 5 additional bonus sessions. Each session has its own set of presentation slides and an accompanying handout. Together these act as an interactive learning experience.
You can choose to work through this series over time taking one session at a time or bundle all the sessions together at once for a team retreat or simply pick and choose sessions that will be most helpful for you. The best approach will best fit your context.