We have
witnessed strong visionary leaders in large organisations leaving the
multitudes wondering who would fit in their shoes should they be incapable of continuing
in their leadership position. It becomes unthinkable that we would consider
their replacement. We must recognise that God has designed life such that we
serve for a time and a season. There is nothing that exists within time that
does not have a beginning and an end - so does a leadership era.
The success of a
great leader is measured by the preparedness of their replacement. A
progressive leader must intentionally prepare and nurture his replacement to be
better and more effective than they have been. Many leaders, especially
founders find it difficult to hand over their brain child. They do not believe
that there is anyone capable of carrying their vision, leave alone elevating it
to greater success.
Why do leaders fail at mentoring?
Leadership gives
a sense of power and control. You call the shots, you have the powers to
direct, to hire and to fire. This power is highly intoxicating. It is difficult
to imagine living without this power and control. Leaders who allow the power
to get into their head struggle with the thought of ceding it to a potential
protégé. They cannot imagine life void of this control - worse still to imagine
a younger person taking away this control would make their heart stop!
Literally.
Assuming that
you are irreplaceable is another factor that prevents great leaders from mentoring
others to take their position. Having steered the company from its infancy to the
current day's multi-million dollar organisation with presence across the
continent, the leader fails to see how anyone else can hack it to run the
company. This false belief that no one can be better at what you do hampers any
effort to start mentoring your replacement.
Mentoring future
leaders is at times impeded by the incumbent's inability to pass on knowledge
and skills. They know what needs to be done and how it needs to be done, but
simply do not know how to share it. They lack the patience of training and
nurturing raw leadership talent. They simply do not see why the potential
replacement just won’t "get it"! They do not appreciate that we all
have different styles of learning. They erroneously expect their replacement to
be exactly like them.
A common cause
of failed mentorship is a lack of trust in others' ability to lead better than
we do. A leader holds their initiative or organisation so closely to their
heart that they fail to see how anyone else could possibly steer it to greater
prosperity. They are blinded to strengths of their potential replacements due
to their perfectionist mentality. Nobody seems good enough to take their
position. They fail to realise that they went through a learning process, made
mistakes on the way and that has built them into better leaders. If only they
could consider giving someone else the same chance.
The Effect of Failing to Mentor
Failing to create
a mentoring platform sets your organisation for inevitable failure or slowed
progress. Should something happen to the leader, making them incapable of holding
their office, an intense vacuum is created. Sudden ailment or death of the
leader would throw the organisation into confusion if no one has been nurtured
to step into their shoes. Often, it would take long to identify a replacement
and get them upto speed with performance expectations at the helm of the organisation.
Mentorship helps
to nurture passion for a given vision in others. An organisation's vision is
the compass that keeps the leadership focused even when they get too engrossed
in the floor operation details. When the bigger picture is clear, it makes it
easy to put the required effort toward achieving the target despite huddles
encountered. This vision is caught rather than taught. If potential leaders in
the organisation are not involved in buying into the founder's vision and
beliving in it, they would not remain focused on the cause for which the
organisation exists to fulfil. Without a vision carrier, it is hard to stay
focused when faced with hardships.
Mentoring
creates an avenue for followers to take ownership of the organisation's success.
Mentorship improves commitment to the cause of the organisation when followers
feel valued enough to be let in on the finer details of how the organisation
runs. They are able to see how their work fits into achieving the company's goals
regardless of how small they think of themselves. Mentoring creates a positive
attitude and commitment to the organisation, making it easy to have a
formidable force to keep the engine running even when the current leader
leaves.
Developing a Mentorship Culture
All leaders must
cultivate the habit of thinking generationally. We must think about what it
would take for the organisation to successfully outlive our grandchildren. We
must recognise and accept that at some point in time, we will have to hand over
the leadership reins. What better time to start preparing our replacement for
this important role than now? Thinking generationally helps a leader to get
over the fear of being replaced by replacing it with the excitement of an
opportunity to hand over the organisation to someone better than themselves.
Successful
mentorship must be intentional. The purpose of the mentorship process must be
clear. Ask yourself:
·
What
do we aim to achieve through the program?
·
How
will we identify candidates for mentorship?
·
What
character are we looking for in the replacement?
·
How
will we implement the program?
Get professional
help to set up the mentorship program if you must, but ensure it is in place.
Make it a requirement in your organisation that skills and knowledge are passed
down seamlessly for business continuity at every level.
Be flexible
enough to allow your mentees to make mistakes. Mentorship requires testing your
protégé's progress. Seek their view in solving issue. Give them the chance to
make contributions toward growing the organisation. It may be hard at first for
them to make proposals, but as they get comfortable with you entrusting them
with the organisation’s future, you may be surprised at the brilliant ideas
they suggest. Get comfortable with letting go and allowing them to have
confidence that you will have their back covered even if they make mistakes.
Help them to learn through participation.
Finally, you
should ensure that your replacement will not need to reinvent the wheel.
Generously share the knowledge and skills you have gathered on your way to successful
leadership. They do not need to make the same mistakes you made for them to
learn. Save them the time to learn the lessons. Aim to leave empty – when you
eventually pass the baton, you must be empty. Give all you can to your
replacement so they don’t need to start their race from the original start, but
from where you ended.
