757 words .. not bad for insight into a successful handoff.
For more posts like this, check out the monthly articles I write each month on my blog, Leadwell Next.
I was first exposed to Jim Collins a couple of decades ago when he spoke at Leadership Network’s Exploring off the Map Conference in Denver, CO. During that session he shared insights from his yet to be published book, Good to Great, including the “who’s on the bus and are they in the right seats” illustration that has shaped the staffing conversations of most church and corporate executive teams since.
And then about ten years ago, I had the privilege of sitting in a room in Boulder, CO with Jim and about 12 senior pastors in a much more intimate setting that included dialog and peer interaction. My personal journal from that session is chock full of insights that have shaped my thinking and leadership and I was reminded of one of those in a recent conversation with David Ashcraft, Senior Pastor at Lives Changed by Christ, a thriving multisite church in Pennsylvania.
David had recently announced his plan for succession after having grown LCBC from 150 on an original campus to over 19,000 (60% of pre-COVID) on 19 campuses. When I asked David what some of the defining moments were for him as he anticipated the transition, he pointed back to the conversations with Collins in that same Boulder boardroom. In particular, he referenced Collin’s statement that “level five leaders leave at the right time and they leave in such a way that things are better when they’re gone than they would be if they had stayed.” True success is in many ways demonstrated by an effective succession.
Granted that can feel a little deflating on the surface like it discounts the contribution that you make in your season of leadership. But David went on to say, “It helped when I began to see my leadership as a relay and not a marathon. I was not called to go the distance then collapse but rather to run my leg of the race well and make a strong hand-off to the next member of the team.”
Later this fall I will be hosting a group of 50-something senior pastors from great churches that are going and growing and innovating in this season. They are very much engaged in the here and now of their churches. None of these leaders are part of the “great resignation crowd.” However, the leaders are also beginning to explore, dream, evaluate, etc. as they think beyond their season in the lead pastor seat.
They will be joined by two amazing mentors, the aforementioned David Ashcraft from Lives Changed by Christ and Bob Merritt from Eagle Brook Church. David is in the “handoff year” and Bob has turned over the reigns to his successor a little over two years ago.
On a recent call to prepare for the cohort gathering, a conversation about the tensions of this season, and how they navigated them surfaced.
Included among the tensions are the following:
Identity - Where does church/role end and my next season persona begin?
Focus - In this last leg of the relay, where do I focus on church and where do I focus on me?
Timing - Is there are a ‘hard chronological stop” or is there a “revealed right moment?
In/out - Will the best successor come from our current team or from somewhere else?
Move/stay - Do I need to move to a new church, a new community or is there a way for me (and my family) to stay?
Preparation - Am I prepared to stop and is my successor prepared to start?
Perhaps, those of you who are in the midst of this season, or just past it or have observed it in your church may be able to add to the list. If so, shoot me an email at greg@ligongroup.com.
Check out the following opportunities:
The Leadwell Senior Pastor Finishing Well Cohort mentioned above will launch on October 25. We have a couple of places open for this by invitation only experience. If you, or someone yoo know, might be interested, shoot me an email (greg@ligongroup.com) at or schedule a time that works for you here.
Or perhaps, you are ready to begin the succession journey now. Give me a shout and I can walk you through the Smart Succession Process. This set of tools designed by my colleague, Dave Travis, enables me to help you, your board and your church develop a tailored path to good ending and strong beginnings. To learn more, you can pick a time for a free consult that works for you here.
For more posts like this, check out the monthly articles I write each month on my Ligon Group blog, Leadwell Next.