Transition Well

Over the past few months I have had the privilege of transitioning many of my roles to our new COO, Linda Sasser. It has been very rewarding and, yet, difficult at the same time.

Linda is an all-star. She is really gifted at things that I am not. Where I have good intentions to develop high-powered teams, she thrives in the execution. Our team has been thriving in the past few months more so than in the previous two years. That is a great thing. Her strengths are more of my weakness. That is how transitions are supposed to work.

There is a problem, however. It is me. You see, for years I have consulted and counseled leaders through transitions. Yes, I have been through many in my life, yet, none like this traditional transition of roles.

For the past two years I have been operating as President/CEO and Chief Operating Officer. I needed to. It has been important for me to see what we acquired first hand and be a part of problem solving. In that time we have accomplished the expansion of the GiANT brand, the addition of other thought leaders that match the values and impact of John Maxwell. We have innovated many John Maxwell offerings and we have doubled the reach and impact of our brand, Catalyst. There have been many positive things established in our teams with new people and infrastructure.

That is not the problem. On paper and in theory I celebrated the thought of a COO to relieve the burden of leadership and allow me to do the things that I really want to do. The problem is that I was getting used to writing with my left hand as COO as well as using my right hand as CEO. The hard part has been the giving up of certain things. I am no longer in many meetings. Teams are doing things that I know nothing of. That has made me nervous.

You need to know, I trust Linda. I trust her implicitly. But I like to play. The teams, however, do not need me to play like I have been playing. They need my right hand to awaken and for me to step into the role that I am best suited for as CEO.

I am about to share a principle that I have shared dozens of times. I now know that it really works if you do it. Transition is about Give and Take. When transitioning, a leader must give up many roles while simultaneously taking on new roles. Does that make sense?

Give Up…
Take On…

If a leader does not take on new things that benefit the company, and does not operate in their sweet spot, then they will naturally gravitate back to the things they have always done and, thus, thwart the efforts of the one they supposedly gave responsibility to.

I have given up most daily operational activities. Linda is more than capable to do those things. I have now taken on many strategic activities like alliances, partnerships, speaking, writing, acquisitions, etc.

I will admit (Linda already knows this) that I have sometimes inadvertently dipped back into my old role. When that happens we usually have a crucial conversation. The give and take is both ways. Linda now gives me updates on the progress that is being made in order to help me not wonder and, thus, “dig” into what I have done in the past, but rather focus on the future.

If this fits you or someone you know I would love to hear practical ideas that can make this process easier for people. Here are some things I have done to make the transition easier on our end.

1. Before Linda started I created a 100 day plan. I could have done so much more in hindsight to make sure that I shared what I was giving up and what I was taking.

2. I am now trying to be out of the office 2-3 days per week to help with the transition and get into my sweet spot.

3. When the transition occurred I went to 5-7 trusted partners and asked them what I was good at, what value I brought, and what they see my role being now to benefit GiANT. This process was an awakening process for my right hand CEO role. It was so helpful and encouraging.

4. I have revisited what it means to be a CEO: cheerleader, vision and values champion, strategic innovation, partnerships, alliances, etc.

5. I have diligently over-communicated with Linda to make sure we are set up with clarity and focus. This is happening less and less because of comfort levels.

I believe this process will have taken six months to get to a basic understanding of transition and our new roles, yet, probably a year or more to get truly comfortable with each other’s styles. That is what you get when you bring on an all-star and she gets a leader who wants to do it right.

Doing it right is often much more difficult and probably a bit more painful because of the effort. However, the results will be amazing.

In five short months we have posted success that I dreamed about two years ago. This is a transition to success.

Posted on September 29, 2009 in Leader Development