[February 28, 2023 – Blog] There always comes a time when we must move on in our careers and lives. But who will take your place? Every Broadway star has an understudy trained and prepared to step in and give a flawless performance at a moment’s notice. However, succession planning is not easy for many of us. It requires coaching, strategy and motivation on our part to bring someone along to step into our shoes.
A first encounter of this may be expecting parents trying to make sure the right team members cover work for them when they are on maternity and paternity leave. I once had a brilliant employee walk in my office to announce she was pregnant. She then presented a spreadsheet detailing every project and client she had and who would take the reins during her leave. Immediately she put my mind at ease as I trusted her to make sure we never dropped the ball. And we didn’t, due to her meticulous planning.
The last and bittersweet role we play, which also can be the hardest to prepare for, requires finding someone awesome to stand beside us upon our death, and take over. We just saw this play out at our Double Heart Ranch when we had a sad farewell to “Gypsy Princess,” our regal Texas Longhorn matriarch of our herd.
For over 22 years, she led with dignity, grace, intuition and extraordinary wisdom. Through blinding rain storms, snow, blistering summers and drought, she cared for the herd and helped them through each and every day of ranch challenges. She was truly a wise leader. For the last year of her life, she had her understudy by her side, learning the ways of the herd. We now have a new leader, who you can see standing proudly by her (pictured on her right) in the photo above.
Give this task careful consideration. Whether you are retiring, getting a promotion, leaving a board of directors’ seat or stepping down as leader of your kids’ PTA, who will take your place? And, are you preparing them for success?
Looking forward and back,
Gay Gaddis
Founder. Author. Artist. Trailblazer.
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