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Leadership Transition

Your year as an officer is coming to an end and new officers are being selected. How do you leave your position gracefully? How do you ensure that the new officers are ready to continue to provide your organization with strong leadership?

A thorough leadership transition plan has several benefits:

  • Providing for transfer of significant organizational knowledge.
  • Minimizing the confusion of leadership changeover.
  • Giving outgoing leaders a sense of closure.
  • Utilizing the valuable contributions of experienced leaders, usually the most neglected members in your group.
  • Helping the incoming leaders absorb the special expertise of the outgoing leadership.
  • Increasing the knowledge and confidence of the new leadership.
  • Minimizing the loss of momentum and accomplishments for the group during this period.

When Do You Start? Early!

  • Begin early in the year to identify emerging leaders.
  • Encourage these potential leaders through personal contact; help them to develop skills by delegating responsibility, sharing the personal benefits of leadership, clarifying job responsibilities, letting them know that transition will be orderly and thorough, and last, modeling an open, encouraging leadership style.
  • When new officers have been elected, orient them together as a group with all of the outgoing officers. This process provides the new leaders with an opportunity to understand each other's roles and to start building their leadership team.

Be sure to transfer the knowledge and information necessary for them to function well.  An organizational history and flow-chart might be helpful. Take time to organize any files or notebooks so they may quickly access information.

What Do You Need To Transfer?

Think back to your first weeks. What could you have used to do your job better? Some suggestions are:

  • Effective leadership qualities and skills.
  • Problems and helpful ideas, procedures and recommendations.

Written reports:

  • Containing traditions, ideas or completed projects; continuing projects and concerns; or ideas never carried out.
  • Personal and organizational files.
  • Acquaintance with physical environment, supplies, equipment and any office procedures.
  • Introduction to personnel (advisors, administrators, contacts, etc.).

A complete record of the organization's structure, goals and accomplishments (through complete and organized files):

  • Constitution and by-laws
  • Organizational goals and objectives for previous year(s)
  • Job descriptions/role clarification's
  • Status reports on ongoing projects
  • Evaluations of previous projects and programs
  • Previous minutes and reports
  • Resources/contacts lists with addresses and phone numbers
  • The Student Activities and Leadership Handouts
  • Financial books and the SOAS Handbook
  • Mailing lists

Be a good, conscientious leader by providing your successor with these things.

USED WITH PERMISSION: University of Michigan Office of Student Activities and Leadership Handouts