In 2021 I got a desperate call from a CEO who was in real trouble. In real trouble of losing his team, his customers, his business. But this story actually starts ten years earlier.
The CEO, we will call him John, was one of four CEOs running a very successful insurance company outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. He and these four CEOs had actually been fraternity brothers in college. Fraternity brothers who had made a plan, a commitment really, that after graduation, after working in the real world for a while, they would find an opportunity to buy a business and grow that business.
John, the one who was calling me, was the one who had found the company and immediately brought his three fraternity brothers in. Right from the start they knew they wanted to share leadership, and all took the title of CEO, running different parts of the business.
One would run finance, another operations, a third would be head of talent development and engagement and the last business development. The perfect plan. So perfect, that they felt no need for succession.
And it was understandable, all of them were in their late 40’s, and after all there were four CEOs, wasn’t that enough of a succession plan?
So, for years the CEOs focused their efforts on what they felt mattered—sales, community engagement and transforming their industry. And for ten years their plan worked. They had more than doubled in size, and they had no plans of stopping.
Why you always need a succession plan
Then I get the call. These CEOs had been riding high, and in a matter of 24 hours everything changed.
The youngest of the four, and the one most obsessed with health, dropped dead of a heart attack while out for a run. And while the team was reeling from the shock, a surprise audit revealed that one of the CEOs, the head of finance, had been embezzling for years.
So, in the span of 24 hours, they went from four CEOs to two. They also lost their “experts” in finance and business development with no back-up talent. The result was a team of employees who were scared about their future, a list of clients who were unsure of how safe their level of service was, and a community and an industry that was losing confidence fast.
That’s when I got the call—because in a span of 24 hours this company not only lost two of their CEOs, but they also lost a third of their client base, about a quarter of their staff, and their reputation in the community was slipping fast.
The point of the story? No matter how much you think you don’t need a succession plan—you always need a succession plan.
Why are you putting off succession planning?
And I get it; you have a lot on your plate and succession planning never seems like the hottest priority—until it is the hottest priority, just like with these CEOS.
As a leader, you don’t take action for a number of reasons. It feels like you’re planning for your own exit or those of other leaders, a little prematurely. You’re not exactly ready to retire and creating a succession plan can feel like a push out the door.
Succession planning can also be awkward and feel a bit political. When you choose one talented individual over another for succession you worry the other person will be offended or even leave—at a time when you cannot afford to have talent leave.
And lastly, you have a lot on your plate—just hitting the numbers and results your board and team is expecting you to hit takes up pretty much all of your time and then some. When are you supposed to focus on succession planning?
Again, it is understandable why succession planning is not your greatest priority—but it needs to be. Here are few ideas to get you started and make succession planning easy.
3 strategies to make succession planning easy
- Start small: You do not have to build a full blown "every position on the organizational chart" succession plan. Start with one, two, or even three positions that you feel are critical to the success of your credit union. The best way to get your succession planning moving is to start small.
- Get clear: ...on who you are looking for, and I don’t mean names—I mean qualities and skills. Get clear on the type of individual you want and need. What skills will they need now, and what skills will you need them to develop or grow? Getting clear on the required qualifications will ensure you make smarter decisions—making your successors more effective.
- Take action: Just get started. Put succession planning on your next leadership level meeting and decide as a team what action you will take and when you will take it. When you make the first move with succession planning, all the next moves will be so much easier to make.
Succession planning is no longer a nice to have, it is a critical part of your strategy to ensure your credit union is not only successful but sustainable.
