Once the successor is chosen, her training should be undertaken. In fact, the overall succession plan must also include the agenda of preparing the successor for the job.
Give Succession Training a Priority
Spending time, money and efforts on grooming the successor is worthwhile for the business. It pays off very handsomely. The successor may be talented and of course, she may learn from her mistakes, but our timely tips and training may save a lot of time and some costly mistakes which finally may be paid for by the business. The owner must prepare and execute the training plan of the successor in a phased manner. Also, if we invest our time with our children while they are growing up, a lot of training about values and virtues is already imparted. We must make sure that this is done by us.
Overcome Your Emotions
It may be natural on our part to be possessive about our business. But, if that prevents us from disclosing the critical information and from passing on the experiential knowledge to the successor, it will damage our business. Remember, if you are handing over your baby to someone to take care, you must tell that person everything that she needs to know about the child. Hiding critical information will hurt the child. We should be equally forthcoming while handing over the business to the successor.
Pass the Baton Fully
Yes, initially, the successor must be trained to know the business and hence must get acquainted with all the operations. But, if she is going to lead the organization in future, she must be gradually introduced to and involved in the strategic planning process also. You must involve the successor in the discussions regarding the future of the company and its strategic direction. Pass on the complete control gradually to the new leader, when she is ready to take it up. And once the baton is passed, don’t come back and temporarily take it back and take some decisions on her behalf. You may guide her if you think she is making a mistake, but let her take the final decision and the responsibility for the outcome.
Give Time to the Successor
The successor may not be able to get ready for the job quickly. So, she may take some time to understand and to take decisions. She may also have a different way of working. During all this, she may also make some mistakes. We must remember that we, too, made some mistakes in our time. It was only that we were not being monitored by somebody else at that time. Moreover, just like brining up children, we must remember that we can’t teach all the lessons that they need to learn even if we know those lessons. Some lessons can’t be taught. They can only be learned. The children will learn these lessons on their own by making their own mistakes or through observation of others’ mistakes. The only thing we should do is be patient, be watchful and step in only if they ask us to do so.
Yes, we must be watchful about the development of the successor. For that, we must not sit on her shoulder and scan her behavior every moment, but we must track the critical numbers and metrics which indicate the business health. If she is not shaping up as expected or is failing at delivering the results, we may help her personally or through some professional. If all fails and the successor’s attitude, abilities or competence are found to be lacking, we must reconsider our succession decision and take a corrective action.
Look at Management Education Objectively
Yes, MBA or any management course helps people learn about business in general and to have a holistic view of the business environment. Every business has its unique nature and character. So, the application of the management techniques to every business requires some discretion and personal judgment, which cannot be taught by any business school. It may come after knowing the intricacies of the business in little more detail. So, initially, the management school graduate in our successor also will need time to know about the business and its dynamics. We must grant him that concession.
MBA does not solve all problems, but it can surely help the manager solve the problems better and faster. Also, we ourselves may have learned business management by making our own mistakes. Business schools train people to learn management from others’ successes and mistakes. We must understand that it is a cheaper and time saving approach.
So, we must be reasonable in our expectation from the management education our successor may have received and we must help him leverage that experience such that it is beneficial to our business.
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