The ManicaPost
Simbarashe Musara
The failure of organisations has been attributed to many factors, including financial constraints, mismanagement, and the failure to understand the environment you are operating in.
These factors can stop the organisation from being fully operational.
However, succession has been heavily overlooked in the success and failure of organisation.
Yet if succession of an organisation is not properly done, it can be very costly to the organisation financially and administratively.
Succession is an administration process that is done to replace a person due to incompetence, misconduct, retirement or death, amongst other factors.
The key focus this paper is to focus on the impact of succession on the key and strategic positions of an organisation.
These positions are the top management and middle management and will focus more on the chief executive officers of the organisations.
These positions are key to holding up the DNA of the organisation.
The DNA of an organisation is what makes it unique, it is at the core of driving it to success.
When the organisation set goals, a vision and targets, these are supposed to be achieved in a specific time frame.
In the event that the CEO is no longer there to carry on his or her duties, the organisation will have to find another one who fits into the organisation’s DNA.
I can allude to a football manager. When a football club hires a new manager, they have to make sure that his or her tactics, management style, abilities, personality and qualifications align well with the goals of the club.
The club will ensure that the manager will be able to relate with the players in the organisation in order to get the best out of them.
Qualifications are not enough when it comes to such roles.
Rather, there is need to recruit someone who can fit into the organisation and ensure that its targets are achieved.
The world must take into consideration the fact that organisations are run by mortals who cannot run the organisation for eternity.
This is also a warning to small business owners as it is often said, “Panofa business man ndipo panofawo business rake,” meaning a business owner dies with his business.
Research has established that 50 percent of business owners have a succession plan in place while only one third of family businesses survive the transition process.
The question that must be asked is weather the organisation has a successor who understands the DNA of the organisation and how to run it smoothly.
There must always be a succession plan in place for key strategic positions.
In the event that a CEO is no longer available for whatever reason, there must be a very precise transition plan to ensure that there is no disruption in the smooth running of the organisation.
A succession plan will facilitate good transition in power and avoid many recruitment costs.
The human resources department should always be on the look-out for talent in the event that an employee in a strategic position leaves.
Succession planning is the plan for the future and the future of an organisation cannot depend on one person.
The planning begins with identifying the critical roles, constructing success profiles, assessing staff and creating development plans.
After some time, top management must also pave way for others who can bring in new ideas in the interest of the organisation.
If one has been a successful manager, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the success will continue into their grave.
As a leader, think about the success of the organisation, not always about yourself.
Once a leader is self-centred, this is a recipe for disaster as such a character will want to remain at the helm for long periods even if they no longer have new ideas, which will be disastrous for the organisation.
As mortals who have a life span and active years in the industry, we must always be on the look-out for our own successors to avoid succession politics that can derail our entities.
Always remember that a successor is not a threat.
As long as you are performing extremely well, there is no need to replace you.
