EDITOR ’ S QUESTION a strong culture , it will survive the leadership change . And if it did not , then it probably did not have a strong culture .
For the incoming leader , it is a balancing act between continuity and change . Without continuity of what ’ s working , nothing new can be accomplished . But without change , nothing new will be accomplished .
Leaders are always appointed to their roles with the expectation that they will enact change . A new leader must quickly find a useful change to make . Otherwise , the organisation will get used to and just expect the status quo .
Leadership transitions are like relay races . The incoming and departing leader must coordinate their actions so that the baton gets passed without hiccups . If the two leaders don ’ t communicate well or make their moves at similar speeds , institutional knowledge and value will be lost .
It is difficult for a new leader to build an unbiased perspective on the state of the organisation and know what suggestions are best to follow . The team member who , on the surface , seems least ready to adjust to the new leader may , in fact , be the most honest in their evaluation of the business . Someone making many useful suggestions to their new boss may just be fishing for favours , and someone else who seems less engaged may actually be busy doing exactly what the new leader is hoping for . Appearances and reality don ’ t necessarily show up the same way .
WITHOUT CONTINUITY OF WHAT ’ S WORKING , NOTHING NEW CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED . BUT WITHOUT CHANGE , NOTHING NEW WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED .
The exiting leader has an important task in preparing the organisation for the leadership change . Organisations often hope to see a new leader who is similar to the previous one . But that would be a mistake – a wasted opportunity . Whether the previous leader was highly successful or not , it will make sense to appoint a new leader with different strengths .
Change as such is useful , and a leadership transition is an ideal point in time to introduce change . If the organisation has
The departing leader needs to be available to the incoming one for advice and conversation . But other than that , the old leadership must step completely out . Organisations will tend to look to their previous leaders for cues . But they will quickly need to adjust to the new situation , taking their cues and orders from the new leader only . It is not a bad idea for a departing leader to make themselves entirely unavailable for a month or two . This will force the organisation to learn to operate with its new leader .
MARTEN MICKOS , CEO , HACKERONE
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