In high school, I ran track and field. One of my events was the 4X100m relay. We were good. We trounced our competition. Proud to say that we set the school record—which remained unbroken for many years.

We were fast. But as individuals, we weren’t all the fastest on the track. I know I wasn’t. We won because our handovers were so smooth. Flawless. Like poetry. We never lost rhythm. Never broke cadence. It was beautiful.

It was assumed we were speedy sprinters or we wouldn’t be on the team. As a starter, I had to explode out of the blocks. Our anchor couldn’t be caught. But this was normal. Every team constructed themselves that way. Our handovers though….they were what set us apart.

Most other teams slowed during their handover. They were afraid of dropping the baton. Nervous of running into each other. Cautious about running too fast to receive the baton. They stuttered their steps, the started slowly, they looked back.

Yes, I’m indulging myself in the sweet memories of early success right now. I like it.

What will your memories be of your handover?

Many of my readers are in their 50’s or 60’s. Your handover is within sight. Can you see the next runner? Do you feel yourself needing to stutter your steps to avoid a collision? Do you find yourself sucking air, wondering how long you’ll need to gut it out to complete the handoff?

You will probably not drop the baton. But will your handover be a thing of beauty? Will it set the next runner up to gain even more ground? Will you be able to indulge yourself in the sweet memory of how well you let go?

Our handovers were so consistently flawless because we practiced them repeatedly. We knew each other’s speed. We measured each other’s strides. We timed our period of acceleration. We practiced so that our handovers happened with both runners running at full speed, looking straight ahead. No pause, no hesitation, no difficult stretching or chasing. We were confidant.

We wasted no effort when it mattered because we put in so much effort ahead of time.

Are you preparing for your handover?

Here are at least five areas that you and your team may want to start rehearsing:

1. Do your personal work. Figure out what is next for you: For better or for worse, the leadership of the United States is handed over every 4 – 8 years. The successor has just about two months to prepare. Both of those months are full of holidays and distractions. But it happens. The average business or non-profit leader, particularly if they are a founder, will insist that there is no way for succession to take place quickly. They will insist their successor needs an elusive combination of experience, charm, enculturation, skills, values, and relationships….

What they are really talking about is their struggle to let go. Most leaders who should be ready to handover just aren’t ready to let go. They discover they are letting go of status, reputation, authority, perks, power, connections, etc. They aren’t ready. Here is how to get ready:

• Ensure you are either financially ready to move on or have an income to move on to.
• Create a vision for “what’s next” in your own life or career. What is personally compelling to you? Stay focused on that vision – not on what you are leaving behind.
• Prepare yourself for what’s next. Start setting part of your interest, attention and focus on the “next big thing” in your life. This isn’t the time to slow down or get distracted. But being ready for your last day of work will make it more of a welcome experience.
• Set & communicate a date for your departure to key leaders. The farther you can plan this out the better. Practically speaking, for most organizations, this will be in the 18 months to 3-year range.

2. Identify the key positions that will need to be filled: When the key leader or any senior leader leaves a position, there is often a reshuffling of seats throughout management. Some people will be promoted because of opportunities the new vacancy represents. Some people will leave because they were staying out of loyalty to the leader. Others will leave because they want to follow a new opportunity or don’t gel with the new leader.

Taking the time to think through what changes are likely to occur can help you prepare. It can provide time for advance training and onboarding of multiple successors within the organization. It can help ensure you’ve found a way to retain institutional knowledge and relationships before people disappear.

3. Identify job requirements: Particularly in organizations run by a founder or long-serving executive, the job they do has often dramatically outgrown their job description (if they ever had one). Along with that, they’ve often shaped the position around their personality and preferences. Creating an inventory of skills and characteristics that are needed for the job can help guide decision making with candidates.

The mistake often made is that leaders try to replicate themselves. Instead, they should be thinking about the ideal leader who can take the organization across a new frontier. This may mean a different set of skills or perspectives than the current leader.

4. Identify the successor or successors: Once you’ve identified the positions that may need to be filled – you can start to identify who will fill them. You can start to define the process for selection – as there may be more than one person interested in the same position. It gives you an opportunity to look outside the organization if that is necessary.

5. Build competencies: What needs to be built within people who will be receiving the handover internally? How do you best use your time now to prepare them for a new position? What competencies does the organization need to grow in? Often there are ways that a leader serves the organization that can be translated into processes or systems that are not personality dependent. What does the organization need to get to the next chapter?

6. Accountability and Assessment: Peter Drucker once said that “You can manage what you can measure.” While not everything needs to be measured, having a timeline and communicating processes, offering opportunities, clarifying expectations and having open conversations helps create accountability.

Prepare to pass your baton. Rehearse it. Allow yourself the sweet legacy of a flawless handover.

If you would like help ensuring that your legacy includes a flawless handover give me call for a complimentary strategy review.