The Banyan Tree or the Banana Plantation!
Are we Building Successors?
Some leaders
are like the banyan tree, larger than life presence, lot of spiritual and
organizational authority, hero worshiped by the followers, communicate
indispensability and they foster many followers who exercise leadership roles
only under the shadow of their leader who acts as their godfather. There is another picture of a leader like the
banana plantation. The banana plant
reproduces not just one or two but multiplicity of plants along side and never under
its shadow. The new saplings just grow
and as tall as the mother plant and continue to multiply. There are two ways of building successors and
we need to make a choice as to how we want our successors to be. The most frequently asked question among
leaders is when to start the process of identifying our successors. The best answer given to me by a colleague was
“The day you assume your office or leadership role, start the processes
immediately.”
Some leaders
assume that successors will automatically emerge once the need arises. Some
think it is a divine appointment and as humans we have no role in the
process. There are still others who
abandon the responsibility to their board or executive committee and hope that
like a magician they will pull out a surprise at the right time. Leaders who
are stepping down must be involved at least in the process of consultation when
the appointment of a new leader.
Developing successors is different from appointment of a successor which
is the role of the Board. Identifying
successors is a long drawn out process
and never happens instantly. Those in
leadership positions should understand that no one is indispensable. There could be unplanned events that will
trigger the need for identifying a successor.
It may be a traffic accident, death, terminal / long term sickness, family
crisis, spiritual crisis, leadership failure, political changes in the country,
……etc. Expected events like completion
of terms, retirement, sabbatical leave, organizational structure changes,
change of geographical location……etc. Some organizations name an interim leader or
an acting leader for the position well in advance so that there is no ambiguity
when an unexpected event occurs. Others
create a policy that specify how and who will be appointed as an interim leader
in the event of a crisis situation. These
are some good practices that prevent uncertainty.
Why do we build successors?
Many of today’s leadership in
missions assumed leadership roles when they were much younger. They were visionaries who pioneered
ministries in many unknown areas. They
struggled to find acceptance among their peers specially when confronted with
issues of denominationalism, doctrines, leadership styles and new vision. Yet
they persevered and are now in their rightful positions.
A crisis is looming in many
mission agencies in the country as it seems that many young people of caliber
are not ready to serve in the existing mission agencies. They end up starting their own newer
organizations. This may be good for the
future of missions in one sense but not necessarily the future of the existing
missions unless there is a paradigm shift in the mindset of the existing
leadership.
If you have not yet noticed, we
are talking of building successors and not appointing successors. The appointment of successors comes very much
late in the entire process of building successors. Successors have to be built one day at a
time.
As the senior leaders and
founders begin to transit into newer roles as advisors and mentors, the younger
successors will emerge from the shadows.
To make this a reality, we all need to learn how to mentor successors
earlier than later. We need to learn the
art of letting go the emerging leaders to find their rightful place in the new
leadership. We must consciously share leadership and decision making roles.
We must develop multiple leaders
across genders, regions and ministries. We must make room for the new emerging
leadership. We have to understand that
the new leaders will have a different style and ethos that is needed for the
present times. The senior leaders and
founders have a responsibility to encourage the emerging younger leadership by
bestowing their authority and approval through constant encouragement even
though they may be different.
Build a team of successors not
one individual
Leroy Eims, former President of
The Navigators, tells a story he heard while attending a Christian conference
that illustrates how vital Jesus' men were to His mission. The conference
speaker shared: "When the Lord Jesus returned to heaven after His
resurrection, one of the angels asked Him a question: What plan do you have to
continue the work you began on earth?’ “Without hesitation Jesus answered, ‘I left it
in the hands of the apostles.’ Another angel asked, ‘What if they fail?’ Again
there was no hesitation, ‘I have no other plan.’" The speaker was quick to note this was only a
story, but it got the point across—humanly speaking, the future of Christianity
fell on the shoulders of these twelve men, the Lord’s first team of successors.
One of the thumb rules in
building successors is never to put all your eggs in one basket. We need to build a team of successors and not
just one individual as a successor. Jesus
focused on the twelve as well as the group of three within them to mentor them
in different ways as His successors. Jesus
never announced his beloved disciple as His successor. (Contrary to the present
day practice of announcing the ‘heir’ both in politics and in some corporate
areas) Jesus allowed for a successor to emerge from among the disciples with a
consensus. Initially Peter assumed
leadership among the ‘eleven’ and later on James became one of the first martyrs
among the apostles, there after to be followed by Peter’s martyrdom while John
the beloved disciple influenced through his writings until a very ripe age.
Organizations when founded are often
very small in size but they always grow.
As years pass, the context changes, the vision enlarges, ministries
expand and the influence grows beyond the present. It is always difficult to assume that one
leader will be able to continue the work.
It is then that the role of the CEO leader changes where he
intentionally begins to delegate most of his responsibilities to a team of
leaders. The CEO leader then becomes not
a hands on person but more of an overseer of other leaders. This concept of building team leadership and
empowering them would enable the process of building a team of potential
successors.
We should always be careful not
to indicate that when the time of the final appointment of the successor
arises, the choice may not necessarily be from within the leadership team or
second line leaders within the organization. Some times a rank outsider may emerge as the
most suitable successor. Godly leaders should have the kingdom mindset in
mentoring not only leaders within the organization but also outside. We should have a broad mind that in the event
of the second line leaders who are being mentored are called to leadership
roles in other organizations, they must be blessed and released to the glory of
God. We should be careful not to lay the
guilt of betrayal on such individuals.
When this happens, it will create an open atmosphere for the best
successor to emerge either from within the organization or even from outside.
The younger leaders are
different
As I was completing this article,
the media splashed the news that the young Indian Cricket team created history
in winning the one day tri-series in Australia. When the cricket team was announced several
weeks ago there was a lot of criticism that experience was being overlooked and
younger in-experienced players were included.
The ‘Youngistan’ as the Pepsi advertisement says proved themselves
against all odds, backlashes and both mental and physical challenges. The under 19 Indian cricket team won the
world cup in Malaysia
almost the same time beating several strong teams.
The economic boom in India was kick
started by young entrepreneurs who ventured into software industry and made it
big. The call centers, BPOs, Medical
transcription, tourism, airlines and all the allied service industry which is
continuing to propel the economy is
dominated by young people.
Enthusiasm, youthfulness, energy,
spirit of learning, enquiry, openly confessing blunders, questioning,
willingness to build trust and submit to one another were some of the
characteristics of a gathering of younger mission organization CEOs at Hyderabad,
India (April 2005). The organizers had a
taste of the future as they found this meeting to be very unique and different
from all the other programs. The whole
scenario was in sharp contrast to the world’s media attention to the
appointment of the newest CEO the 79 years old Pope Benedict XVI as the Head of
the Roman Catholic Church.
Nearly fifty years of the
missions’ movement in India
is poised for a new era as the Gen Next is assuming their rightful role in the
global missions’ scenario. Many mission
organizations have been recently facing leadership transition as the founding
and senior leaders have stepped aside from their roles or passed into eternity. The young leaders were well trained and
exposed not just in missions but also in other spheres of life. A few of these leaders inherited the role
from their father who founded their ministries, which is not uncommon in the
Indian scenario. The common issue for discussion during the gathering of the
younger CEOs was the challenges of leadership transition. As the new leaders assume their role they
need a lot of encouragement and counsel from the senior leaders and statesmen
of the Indian mission movement at the same time avoiding the creation of
continued dependency.
These young leaders are often
seen with mobile phones, laptops and leather briefcases. They communicate easily through emails,
mobile phones, SMS and power points presentations. They seek creative ways of communicating the
Gospel and discipling people to meet the modern day challenges. They are not
afraid to experiment and fail. They constantly seek to build on the foundations
laid by the visionary leaders before them.
They have seen the dollars before they entered missions and are more
passionate to creatively raise finance from within the country or innovatively
be supported by income generating projects.
They accept globalization of missions as a reality and think beyond the
traditional roles of missions. Their
commitment to Jesus Christ and their sense of sacrifice is no lesser than that
of the earlier generation of mission leaders.
They are only different. They are the younger CEOs within the Indian
mission scenario.
The present day younger leaders
face different challenges. The first
challenge is the difficulty of stepping into the shoes of their predecessors
who were often charismatic visionaries.
The younger leaders are often better trained and exposed to a variety of
contexts but lack the critical life experiences. Therefore they look for varied opportunities
to gain experience as they grow into leadership. However, in many organizations leadership is
simply confined to an age bracket or biased towards a particular regional
background. This needs to change if younger leaders have to be given
opportunities to exercise leadership roles and gain experience. Younger leaders
often need space to experiment new ideas in the ministry. This is often resented as earlier ideas have
been successful and most want the same to continue. Resistance to change is a very common challenge
that younger leaders struggle to overcome.
Younger leaders need mentors who are willing to walk alongside but often
find only god fathers who want to place them in leadership roles and control
them.
Building leadership beyond
organizations
Many times we get pre-occupied in
developing leadership within the organizational structures like the
denominational churches or mission organizations. We should expand our influence and develop
leadership in several areas of the whole society. Developing leadership only within an
organization would not impact the rest of the world. All Christian leaders must constantly develop
leadership in the field of arts, sports, entertainment, business and economy,
local community, educational field, mass media, family and governance of the
nation. (Adapted from the Seven mind
molders model – Arts, Business, Church, Education, Dissemination of
Information, Family & Government)
The contemporary mission challenge of serving the urban middle class,
mega people groups and the growing mass media needs Christian leaders in every
field. We will be short sighted to
assume that leadership development among the so called ‘full time workers’ will
serve the purpose. Christian professionals and entrepreneurs have to be
identified and trained to exercise servant leadership in the market
places. God is always concerned about
what happens in the market and business world as much as within the
church. Servant leadership can be
exercised even without any formal leadership designations and roles. It only requires spiritual authority and
influence which comes from a close walk with God.
Leadership succession does not
end within an organizational structure and we need to see how we can transform
individual lives and communities through leaders who will take their places
according to God’s plan and purpose. Dr.
John Thannickal, a mission leader from Bangalore
says that a leader is never successful unless his successor succeeds. We as leaders must do all that is within our
capacity to develop successors who will succeed in the next phase of
missions. The Indian mission movement
now needs a new generation of energetic spirit filled youthful leaders who can
take the baton and pass it on to the next generation. How wonderful it will be to see this scenario
emerging without much tension, stress or struggle! John Amalraj
Published in Indian Missions, Quarterly of India Missions Association, Hyderabad, July 2008
