Approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers retire every day. If you're planning to be among them one day soon, you might want to think about how your retirement could impact your organization and its employees.
"Research suggests that organizations and their boards are poorly prepared for CEO transitions," says Harvard Business Review contributor Karen Firestone, who began planning for her own retirement two years ago. "The most common transgression is procrastination, in failing to charge the next generation of managers with more responsibility. Not only are CEOs reluctant to pass on key functions that they consider essential elements of their own identity, but their boards have difficulty pushing for these necessary changes. When the CEO does depart, companies find themselves lacking leaders who are experienced in critical aspects of the top post."
If you want your company to survive your eventual departure, Firestone says, you've got to start preparing your team for it today by training them to fill your shoes tomorrow.
"Think about shifting some responsibilities to the next generation of leaders," Firestone advises. "You want to begin planning and implementing a program to divest some of your functions at least two years in advance. At first, these efforts should account for no more than 10 percent of your time, and then you can focus more on this as retirement approaches."
Transition responsibilities slowly. "Work very closely with your designated 'responsibility successors' before you hand over the full assignment," Firestone continues. "Then, once you reassign these functions, trust your judgment and let your team take charge without your interference. For at least six months, refrain from hovering over people and explaining how you would have done that job. Most of the time, the colleagues whom you selected personally will have the right instincts, and if not, half a year is not infinity."
Firestone is taking her advice -- and she says it's working. "I began to plan for my eventual retirement at least five years early," she concludes. "I reassigned some of my operating functions to my younger partners, who need to master them before I leave. And with more time, I happily filled it with [new projects] which benefit the company and expand my role in a new direction. So far, so good."
More Tips:
https://hbr.org/2018/08/how-one-ceo-prepared-her-organization-for-her-retirement
Questions, Comments, Suggestions?
Contact Successful Meetings Editor in Chief Vincent Alonzo with your "How To" ideas.