Leadership Succession in Ministry Organizations

A few basics on ministry succession

[Note from Ted: I have had a bit of a flurry of new subscribers since January. Welcome! I write on leadership, global missions, and innovation.]

Leadership succession in ministry is like death and taxes: not very fun, inevitable, and a bit harder than we like. I have a friend who says, “I don’t mind dying. It is the getting-dead part I don’t look forward to.” So, it is with succession. Every ministry, church and organization will face succession. Rarely it is something that is eagerly anticipated as the potential game changer and opportunity that it can be.

I recently finished a great little book on succession in ministry called, “The Magnificent Exit,” by Niel Hart. It is a great overview of issues that leaders might consider in succession. Unfortunately, it makes an assumption that I see in many succession planning books or resources. It assumes that the current leader is responsible to appoint their successor. This is rarely the way things go down.

Most succession processes are controlled by organizational boards or church boards. The best contribution of the existing leader for great succession is to prep the organization for this reality. As ministry leaders, we should not expect that we will lay the mantel of leadership onto the next leader. But we can lay the foundation for the next leader to be successful.

For sure there are some exceptions to board’s implementing the succession plan. I can think of two groups that have succession via family. Many Pentecostal/charismatic churches have father/son leadership handoffs. These churches often look to the existing leader to play the primary role in picking a successor. I have also observed that many non-Western ministries, with a higher level of communal culture, have a similar dynamic. This is not going to be the norm for most organizational leadership if the ministry has grown to any significant size, and it also is usually only 1st generation succession. When more people are involved, if the budget is bigger, or the ministry is older, boards are more likely to appoint successors. Good boards take into account the input of the outgoing leader, but they usually drive the process.

The organizations that seem to do best with succession are those that appoint leaders from within. This provides for continuity between leaders and often makes other team members feel confident that the new leader understands the issues facing the ministry. What makes this possible is a culture of leadership development. This should be the ultimate goal of a great organization: to constantly strive toward developing the people within. Then, when new leadership is needed, there are multiple possible candidates.

When organizations are at crisis or inflection points, it might make more sense to bring in an outsider. These leaders can see things with fresh eyes, have no emotional commitment to past programs or activities, and stand the best chance for making significant changes.

The most challenging time to bring in an outside leader is when the outgoing leader is the founder. “Founder’s trap” happens when growth outpaces the founder’s personal abilities to lead. In this case, bringing in an outside successor may be bridge too far. Ministries that face this might want to carefully weigh internal candidates first, before going outside.

Succession is inevitable. Planning for it, creating a culture of leadership development, and then carefully understanding the current state of the ministry all assist in making good decisions about succession.