Succession Coaching – Stepping Back Works, Too!
June 19, 2009
A coach client recently asked, “In coaching for succession, is there an option for stepping back rather than stepping out completely?” I was reminded immediately of the famous Iacocca quote, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way,” and knew from experience that the Iacocca approach is a hard swallow for most entrepreneurs. But as I pondered the possibilities, I could see where a “stepping back strategy” could work for some.
Here’s what I told my coach client and would work with a coaching client of my own to realize, as well:
- There is no one “right” way to initiate a succession plan/exit strategy. If you have a plan that works for you, use it;
- Your options include, but are not limited to, moving up (to an emeritus, or honorary,position, for example), moving aside (giving up all your accountabilities and assuming a consultative role), or, moving on/out (leaving);
- It may only be a subtle difference, but stepping back and assessing what you do well, then re-aligning the leadership team so you do only those things you do well, like to do, and can do in the time you want to devote, while someone else in leadership takes on your other duties, can also be an option;
- There is a reason why “success” is built into “succession.” It’s about everyone being a winner – you, the organization and other leaders in the organization (who may feel they’ve been waiting in the wings too long).
Maybe stepping back, as a strategy, is an option you should consider for yourself or your clients. What do you think?
Succsession Coaching for Boomer Enterpreneurs
December 8, 2008
Succession Coaching
Recently, I was asked to give a speech to a client’s church group (The New Beginnings Group for those who had lost a loved one and needed to get on with their life). I told him I typically speak only to business groups. He suggested my succession presentation, with some tinkering, would do nicely.
The tinkering, though, gave me some additional insight into the loss we, as Boomer entrepreneurs and Senior Executives, face in moving on to a new stage of life when our “business” is at least NOT our central focus.
When I started talking, I shared my view that life is about giving up the things you love (because all living creatures and situations are transitory). I suggested the grieving process has its place but too often we stop there, not thinking we have mountains yet to climb. I shared with them the notion of the Hero’s Journey, as told so eloquently in books, recordings and videos, of Joseph Campbell (and Bill Moyers). And then, I asked them to consider answering the 5 Questions I had found were most important to my clients in my succession and executive coaching (for those moving on) work. They tend to be the most important because, the talk about having a “life” after work and without some vision of where you are going, moving on tends to be both scary and a health risk.
Here are the five business succession questions:
1. What do I want to do with the rest of my life?
2. Who do I want with (or around) me as I undertake new adventures?
3. Where do I want to call home as I move forward?
4. How can I minimize anger / worry about the past and the future?
5. How do I want to be remembered?
I hope you find them helpful.
John Reddish, and his Associates at Advent, help entrepreneurs and other leaders who want to master growth, transition and succession to get results faster, less painfully and in ways that work for them. This happens through consulting, coaching/mentoring, training and/or speaking. Understanding that there is no ONE path to get results, client services are tailored to the way s/he can best use our services. John is a member of the National Speakers Assn. For more information: www.getresults.com. For succession information, go to: www.thesuccessionplanner.com. Or call 610.506.6311 in the US, 01.610.506.6311internationally, or at johnr [at] getresults [dot]com.
Coaching for Succession
September 26, 2008
Succession Coaching in Practice – One of my succession coaching clients, Katharine Myers, of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator fame, told me about a recent article featuring her in the Philadelphia Inquirer. When she was interviewed for the piece, we were about mid-way along our coaching path. This week, the last week in September, we had dinner to celebrate her successful transition. You can read the article (I’m referenced as “executive coach”) at: http://tinyurl.com/3obbyn
John Reddish, www.thesuccessionplanner.com and www.getresults.com
A Coach is not…and is
June 4, 2008
If you look at the sports model, you’ll always find the coach on the sidelines. S/he is not the star, not the performer. S/he may be providing much of the strategy, or little, much of the encouragement, or merely a tweak, much of the sweat but little of the bruising. The coach is, or at least should be the cold reality of honest perspective wrapped in a warm blanket of trust and detached enough so as not to melt before the medicine is taken.
