Succession planning is one of those issues that most organizations don’t address systematically. Some organizations are small; others are struggling with organizational issues. In these situations, thinking about what happens if the CFO suddenly leaves or the CEO gets sick does not seem to be a priority (Information Resources Management Association, 2018). It is necessary to analyze the relevance of this issue and the concepts that allow working through this area using the example of Father Roberto’s organization.
First of all, it must be noted that Father Roberto has the leadership quality of foresight. As a conscious leader, he understood the need to find a worthy successor so that the team would not fall apart without his leadership (Northouse, 2021). He saw how other similar organizations often struggled after their leaders left (Northouse, 2021). Consequently, the issue of succession has not been overlooked in the organization. Nevertheless, several concepts can help strengthen the team’s position.
- Increasing the size of the organization. In small companies, there may be so few positions that there is no room for promotion (Overbey, 2018). It leads to layoffs for the sake of career advancement or to a lack of desire and incentive to improve professional potential (Overbey, 2018). Thus, it will be tough for new managers to prove themselves.
- Identification of the candidate for the managerial position. To identify the deputy manager in time, it is necessary to communicate regularly with the team and raise the employees’ qualifications and professionalism (Information Resources Management Association, 2018). By the way, Father Roberto Ubertino listened to his followers and helped them grow through his work in the community, volunteering, and helping others (Northouse, 2021). In other words, the organization is characterized by constant interaction with the team.
- Develop a plan for transferring quality skills and knowledge to the successor. Mentoring or coaching must be incorporated into professional activities (Atwood, 2020). The organization already has the beginnings of this concept; the bosses tried to get into the position of the workers by analyzing and understanding specific difficulties and taking into account the human factor (Northouse, 2021). It helped to achieve a high level of cooperation between paid staff, volunteers, and superiors. If such practices were applied to a potential successor, this problem would be solved as effectively as possible.
References
Atwood, C. (2020). Succession planning basics. American Society for Training & Development.
Information Resources Management Association (Ed.). (2018). Emergency and disaster management. Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. IGI Global.
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Overbey, J. A. (2018). Succession planning. Promoting organizational sustainability. Springer International Publishing.