Passing It On: Growing Your Future Leaders (20 page)

Most of us could not do that. When we get to a position of power, we settle in and begin to make plans for how we are going
to stay there and make sure no one can move us out. Mandela could not wait to relinquish power because he did not feel that
he needed to pursue authority. He was willing to make himself unnecessary. He knew when to leave the stage.

If you have made the right decision and mentored a successor properly, you can move on and rest assured that the ship is in
the right hands and
proceeding on course. As we have seen, Jesus was always preparing His team for the time He would leave. From the beginning
of His ministry, He talked about His death (see Matt. 17:22–23). Why talk to your nearest team members about your death all
the time? Ideally, you are trying to build into them the acceptance of your dispensability and vulnerability. It underscores
that you are not bound to the position. You are not equating your value with your position. You accept your own mortality.
The secret to succession begins with the leader’s acceptance of his mortality. It begins with the consciousness, “I am temporary.”
That allows confident mentors to find a replacement, develop that person, and plan for departure.

When leaders refuse to make room for others and mentor them, they restrict and retard the capability of others. By leaving,
they allow others to come into their own.

Jesus had three and a half years to plan an effective transition. Do you remember when Jesus told His students this?

John 14:12
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.
He will do even greater things than these
, because I am going to the Father.”

He was talking about going to the Father. He tied the capabilities of others to His absence.

You may remember that He also said:

John 16:7
“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you;
but if I go, I will send him to you.”

In the first case, He was saying in effect, “If I do not go, then your capacity or potential will never be fulfilled.” In
the second instance, He was saying something different. “It is better if I go away. If I do not go away, then the replacement
cannot come.” In other words, leaving makes room for the other leader.

Both are relevant to the discussion of succession. Leaving provides the opportunity for other people to reach their full potential
and provides an opportunity for someone else to shine.

Many people measure their success by how long they can stay. In reality, that is a contradiction because you know you are
not going to stay forever. You will get sick, get into an accident, or die. Life is unpredictable.

Jesus knew this and He knew when His time was almost up. John 12 records that He predicted His death yet another time.

John 12:23–25
Jesus replied, “
The hour has come
for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains
only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates
his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

He knew He would have to leave to be glorified. At Gethsemane, Mark says Jesus was certain His time was up.

Mark 14:41–42
Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son
of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Jesus knew it was time to meet destiny and turn over His command. He told His followers so. Jesus was healthy and whole when
He left the position. We too must recognize when the hour has come. Timing is everything. Leave the party early if you can.
Say your good-byes and get out while your reputation and your dignity are intact. Leave with pleasant memories and not regrets.

It is better to leave early than to stay too late.

Know when the hour has come.

Y
OU HAVE A
fabulous staff. They are all well-trained, efficient, and productive. Many of them have been in your service for many years
and have the experience it takes to lead the enterprise. They have wonderful ideas on how to make it grow and the abilities
to execute them. You have heard that some of them are getting impatient for the opportunity to lead. A few of them may even
be praying for your departure or scheming for your removal. A handful of people on the board have already created a system
to get rid of you. Rumors are circulating madly.

How do you choose one to mentor and take over the company, department, church, or school when you leave?

Who is there for you to give all your powers, all your accomplishments? If you have read this far in the book, you probably
are at least beginning to accept that you have an obligation to find your successor, mentor that individual, and get ready
for new challenges. By now you might even be looking forward to it. Still, you may be wondering how to make such a big decision—one
that caps off all your accomplishments so far and establishes your legacy for all time.

No pressure. Right?

Let me try to help. First, we will deal with the kind of person you should
not
choose. If you were expecting advice first on what kind of people to consider,
study the following list. I think it is far more important to know what kind of people to avoid. By process of elimination,
you can zero in on the good candidates.

Through my years of reading about and observing the transition of leadership in real-life situations, I have come up with
six principles for disqualifying a potential successor. Do not choose one who:

“Choose the one who loves you and not your vision.”

Loves your vision
. This is shocking to most people because we normally think the person who captures our vision and loves our vision is the
kind of person who should succeed us in the organization. I have found this is not always the case. If you are a success,
you expect people to be attracted to your vision, but that does not qualify them to be successors. You do want to mentor those
who are willing to carry out your vision, but those who focus merely on the vision and not on you may not carry on your legacy
in the way you would want. They may see the vision through different eyes. The final product may not at all be what you had
in mind. Their methods of achieving it may not be what you desire. They may try to reach the goal without exercising the values
you emphasized, or want the vision so badly that they push you out prematurely, or get rid of the staff you protected, or
disenfranchise the heirs you love.

People will be attracted to what you are doing. They will express their admiration and encourage you, telling you how wonderful
your work is. They will even be willing to help you do it. They may be sincere. They want to serve you and believe you have
“a great vision from God.” Or, “You are a genius.” Or, “I just love your company. You have a great marketing plan.” That is
the wrong person to choose because whoever loves only your vision could try to take it over or cause a split in the organization.
Be careful of those who express excessive interest in your vision; they may have ulterior motives. They love your vision,
but are not necessarily committed to helping
you
carry it out. Choose those who respect the vision but respect you more.

Loves and admires your gift
. Of course your gift attracts people, and many of them associate with you for the right reasons. They enjoy hearing you speak
or watching you succeed. They want to learn from you and help you. That does not mean you should automatically entrust everyone
who loves your gift with the future and rush to teach them everything you know, lay your hands on them, and give them your
blessing to follow in your footsteps. Some people say, “I just love the way you write. You are such a wonderful writer. I
just admire you.” Many of them are sincere, but others come around you to get what you have.

While many people will have a commitment to or appreciation of you as a person, others may not care much for you or your personal
needs or success. Your gift, however, benefits them in some way. Being around you gives this type credibility, allowing them
to advance their personal ambition. They want to move ahead by using their association with you. They want your name and your
influence. They are with you but not for you. These few are dangerous people.

I think this is what Jesus meant when the people came to Him and asked for a miracle. They loved His gift. But His answer
was short. He said that only a “wicked and adulterous generation” seek out miracles (see Matt. 12:38–39). He identified their
motives. They were not interested in Him, but rather in what He could do.

After Jesus multiplied the fish and bread, the crowds had followed Him. They came after Him because of His gift.

John 6:26–27
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the
loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man
will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Some people come to you because of your gift, not because of you. Do not trust everybody who applauds you. Do not be so quick
to delegate authority to people who seem to celebrate you because they might be celebrating only what you do for them and
how they benefit from being with you. Some people’s relationship with you is for their benefit, not yours. Jesus knew that
some people followed Him only because He had fed them on fish and bread. They were attracted to Him because of the miracles
He had done. The people who love your gift may be with you because of what you can do for them, because you can make them
look good or feel good. The people who love
only your gift may want that gift or the benefits derived from it for themselves. Choose those who are sincere in their admiration
of your gift, but appreciate you for who you are.

Wants to emulate you
. Many people may imitate you just out of true admiration. You may be the only positive role model in their lives. Your mentoring
is working in them. Others who copy everything you do may be trying to compete with you and possess what you possess. Beware
of prospective mentees who seem to want to
be
you and to have everything you have—the title, position, and influence. They might even turn up wearing the outfit you wore
last week. They drive the car you drive. They emulate your lifestyle too much. They are always asking where you bought something
and how much it cost. “Man, I want me one of those!” Maybe you have people like this around you now. They are not trustworthy.
In extreme cases, they might try to depose you, embezzle from you, steal possessions, or run off with your spouse. They want
the bling, not the business. They are not candidates to succeed you. Choose those who imitate the right things they see in
you for the right reasons.

Wants your power
. Choose those who are confident in their own anointing and who do not covet your power. One guy in the New Testament became
so excited when he saw the apostles exercising power that he offered them money to have the same gift, but Peter rebuked him.

Acts 8:18–24
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “
Give me also this ability
so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because
you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not
right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in
your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so
that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

Some people may approach you nicely and say, “I want your anointing.” That is the wrong person to choose. Your anointing is
for you. They should have
and realize their own anointing. That is not something you bestow. Be wary of those who just love being around power and who
just want the power that comes with your position. Do not choose a successor who is too fixated on watching you control things
and use your influence. Avoid the ones who only like to flirt with your power, asking, “May I make the announcements for you?
May I present the report? Let me represent you at the meeting.” They can be dangerous if they only want to take on your power,
not your sacrifice.

The person who merely loves your power would not necessarily use it to carry on your vision or build on your success. He or
she has other agendas. Mentor the ones who are confident in their anointing and are willing to observe and learn how you use
your power to benefit others.

Wants your position of authority
. Authority is different than power. Authority is permission. Power is ability. Authority is position. Power is control. You
can have power but not authority. You can have authority without power. As a leader, you might have it within your power to
control or influence most of the people in an organization, but if you are not the sitting president, you do not have the
authority
to direct the organization to take action.

Watch those people who desire the authority you have. They want you to promote them so they can have your blessing to exercise
control over others. They want the gavel that goes with the office. They may even try to convince you that what they want
is good for you. A genuine desire to serve a leader and the desire to use a leader are two very different things. One says,
“I want to serve you; I want to be your number two man”—but does not necessarily mean it. Another comes with the right attitude:
“I just want to make you look good. I can do whatever you wish. Let me know what you need me to do.” The latter is someone
to keep an eye on for succession. One who covets your authority will not submit to your authority while you are still in charge
and may try to undermine you.