Is Succession Planning Necessary in Church?

Do you have a succession plan for the key leaders at your church? Succession planning as defined by Wikipedia is the process of identifying and preparing suitable employees through mentoring, training and job rotation, to replace key players. What would happen if the worship leader at your church got sick on Saturday night and became completely unable to lead worship the next service? Would it be scramble mode? Or do you have plan? If your church administrator found a better job, would key historical information be retained? Would the transition be seamless?

Don’t’ be fooled into thinking that nothing will happen to your current key leaders. If you haven’t developed a succession plan, the primary 2 things you must do is identify the right replacement and mentor that replacement. In the November 2007 issue of CFO magazine, they identified 10 Steps to Successful Succession Planning.

1. Start the conversation.
2. Create a formal succession document.
3. Identify high-potential employees.
4. Partner candidates with mentors
5. Broaden candidates skill bases with rotations [in other departments].
6. Conduct annual performance reviews.
7. Manage expectations.
8. Develop contingency plans.
9. Be prepared for defections.
10. Communicate often, precisely, and discreetly.

Challenge: Start the conversation with your key leaders this week in identifying their replacement.