Leadership transition—it’s just a simple two-word combination, but it is not an easy change to implement successfully.

Gone are the days when stability and lifelong commitment characterized organizations and their leadership. In the modern world, organizations and their leaders must remain fluid and continuously ready to adapt to change. Information travels faster than ever before, and expectations of productivity are sky high, and people are more willing to improve their lives, careers and titles.

Transitions happen faster and more frequently these days, and organizational leaders need to know how to adapt. They need to be able to handle adversity and uncertainty with the confidence and skill to steer their organizations through the curves on the road to stability and continued success.

Are you troubled by transitions made by managers and key personnel in the C-suite? Does the speed and frequency of change stress you out?

It’s easy to comprehend why leadership transitions might create stress and anxiety for some people but the brutal reality is that change rules the world. Those who handle change and transition nimbly and gracefully succeed. They steer their teams expertly through changes and find ways to turn adversity into triumph. Those who fail to adapt may see their organizational fortunes diminish considerably.

The Consequences of Unsuccessful Leadership Transitions

When leadership transitions are handled poorly, organizations suffer. Here’s what the data says:

• 46% of leaders under perform during the transition
• Direct reports perform 15% less effectively when working under leaders who have struggled with changeovers
• Direct reports are also 20% more likely to become disengaged or even leave the organization

In today’s highly competitive and fast-paced business world, organizations cannot afford to weather these consequences. Even if they do withstand these struggles and effects, competing organizations will have outpaced them significantly during the time it took to get back on track.

The Benefits of Successful Leadership Transitions

The difference between successful and unsuccessful leadership transitions is staggering. Consider what happens when transitions are handled expertly:

• Successful transitions create a 90% higher likelihood for teams to meet or exceed their three-year performance benchmarks
• When transitions are treated well, the risk of attrition is 13% lower
• Successful transitions boost effort levels, which lead to revenue increases of up to 5%

As you can see, it pays to take leadership transitions seriously, but you have to know how to handle them properly. According to recent studies, between 27 and 46 percent of leadership transitions are regarded as failures after two years. And it should be noted that in many of these cases, the leaders who were involved in the changeovers were excellent performers in their previous roles. Even the most intelligent, well-meaning, hard-working and visionary leaders sometimes fail when it comes to changes.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Here are some of the ways you can help your organization succeed through leadership transitions.

#1 — Understand What’s at Stake

You can’t expect a leadership transition to happen successfully if you don't understand the landscape. Every transition is different and should be treated as a unique endeavour.

Factors to consider include:

• The scale of the transition — Is the transition occurring because of a significant change such as a merger or acquisition that alters organizational structure significantly? Or is it a smaller-scale change involving one or two key individuals? The way you handle the transition should reflect its scale.
• The frequency of the transitions — How quickly is your organization experiencing leadership transitions? Is this something that needs to be addressed several times per year due to churn, or is your organization and its leadership more stable? If you’re dealing with instability, you need to dig deeper and address the factors that may be contributing to the high turnover. Failing to do so drains confidence and productivity from the workforce.
• The timing of the transition — How much time is available to prepare and lay the groundwork for the transition? Is it happening suddenly, or do you have a long runway? Sometimes developments move at a pace that gives senior leaders ample time to prepare and implement a transition plan. But in other cases, time is not a luxury that's available.
• Internal vs external leadership — Is the new leader coming from inside the organization, or are they someone who is brand new? Familiarity is a critical factor that often goes unconsidered. When a new individual is brought in to lead, extra time and consideration must be taken to grow familiarity and trust.

#2 — Take Stock of Your Organization’s Culture

When leadership transitions fail, it’s often because of a severe misunderstanding of the organizational culture. I can’t overstate the importance of awareness and communication. You cannot expect to undergo a successful transition if you only interact with your people on a limited basis. You need to ensure that communication happens continuously. It should be an ongoing conversation, not an occasional check-in. You must have an accurate sense of the "lay of the land" to ensure successful transitions. Otherwise, you will have no idea how to prepare your team for what’s about to happen.

#3 — Know Yourself and Know Your Ability to Handle the Transition

Awareness of your organization's culture is critical, but so is the perception you have of yourself. Are you prepared to do all the heavy lifting that's necessary to ensure a smooth transition? Do you have the emotional temperament to guide the developments smoothly considering the turmoil it is likely to cause? Are you capable of acting in a steady, rational manner through the turbulence of change, or is your performance likely to diminish because of stress?

These are difficult questions to ask yourself, but you must address them. It is essential that you be honest with yourself and your capabilities. And you cannot be afraid to enlist the help of others within your organization to fill in the gaps.

When you practice self-awareness, you are more mindful and capable of recognizing your strengths and weaknesses more readily. You can leverage your strengths in a manner that makes the transition happen more smoothly and seek help in the areas that are not in your comfort zone. There’s nothing wrong with having confidence in your abilities if you’ve assessed them honestly and authentically. Likewise, there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that there are areas where you’re not the expert and need to seek out support and assistance.

Help is Available

When I work with organizations, I sense the impact leadership transitions have on them, sometimes more than the key players themselves. Transitions can be scary, of course, but frequent change is par for the course these days, and I’m here to help.

If you’re interested in learning more about how today’s top executives and high-performing organizations handle transitions, I would love to talk with you. Give me a call at 1-855-871-3374 or email at joanne.trotta@leadersedgeinc.ca to learn more.

I would also love to your feedback so please tell me what you think. Have you experienced a tricky leadership transition lately? What went wrong? What went well? Let’s talk!