3  Succession Planning

the best-case scenario

3.1 How Leaders Leave

  • (Sonnenfeld 1988) studied what happens when leaders leave the organisations they built and identified four departure archetypes
    • Which one applies to you is shaped by how central the project is to your identity
    • Recognizing the pattern in advance shapes the handover conversations
  • Monarchs refuse to leave until forced out and undermine successors
  • Generals depart reluctantly, maintain close ties, and often attempt to return
  • Ambassadors leave willingly, remain available to successors, and are the most satisfied post-exit
  • Governors leave cleanly for new pursuits and disengage entirely

3.2 Before

  • Be sure you mean it
    • Letting go will be hard on you but not letting go will be even harder on your successors
    • So be sure you actually mean it
  • Do it when others think it’s time
    • You will often be the last person to realize that you ought to be moving on
    • So ask people and pay attention to what they say
    • Which means you need to know people who will tell you the truth
  • Explain what, when, and why
    • Tell people you’re leaving as soon as you’re sure
    • Prevents rumors, gossip, and speculation
  • Don’t pick a successor by yourself
    • You will probably have strong opinions about who should succeed you
    • But you are not objective
    • And what the project needs now is probably different from what it used to need
    • Involving others in the planning also builds community

3.3 During

  • Write a succession plan
    • Final state: what is your successor actually responsible for?
    • Transition: what are you handing over to them when?
    • First draft on your own, final draft with your successor
  • Hand over gradually if you can
    • Start sharing tasks with your successor a few days/weeks/months before you leave
    • They will get to see how things actually work
    • You’ll discover things you would otherwise forget to tell them
    • Go on holiday for a week and leave your successor temporarily in charge
  • Hand over permissions and credentials step by step
    • Transfer administrative access a step ahead of the responsibilities it controls
    • Keep at least two people with each critical credential
  • Have some fun before you go
    • People remember beginnings and endings more than middles
    • So don’t just slog your way to the end and turn out the lights
    • Instead, pick a small project you never quite got around to and do one final sprint

3.4 After

  • When you leave, leave
    • Tempting to continue to have a role in the organization
    • But that is confusing because people are used to looking to you for answers
  • Leave for something
    • People who start things usually aren’t good with idleness, and idleness tends not to be good for them
    • So have your next project lined up, even if it’s small
  • Reflect on what you learned
    • Write down what you learned and what you could have done differently
    • Helps you move on
    • Helps with the next thing you do
    • Helps your successor and other people
  • Celebrate the good things
    • Many people only reflect on could-have-beens
    • Write down what you accomplished as well
    • It’s just as important for your successors and the community as it is for you

3.5 Exercises

3.5.1 Before

  1. Who should be involved in picking your successor?
  2. Write a draft of the message you will send to your community and/or post on your project website announcing your departure, and review it with others in a small group.

3.5.2 During

  1. What have you done in the last week that your successor will be responsible for? Which of these are easiest for your successor to start with?
  2. What have you done in the last year that only needs to be done occasionally? Which of these can be practiced now, and which can only be done when the time comes?
  3. What is the most satisfying small thing you could do before you step away?

3.5.3 Choosing a Successor

  1. List the qualities your project needs most in its next leader.
  2. List three people who might fill the role. For each, name one strength that fits and one gap you would have to cover.
  3. Who else should be in the room when the choice is made? What would make you reconsider your own shortlist?

3.5.4 After

  1. Write down (at least) three things you think you accomplished while leading your project.
  2. Write down (at most) three things that you think you could have done better.
  3. What are three things you would like to do after you leave your project?

3.5.5 Succession Failure

You identified a successor and spent six weeks gradually handing over responsibilities. Two weeks before your planned departure, they accept a job at a company, and their contract prohibits outside open source work. Your other potential successors have already made other plans based on your original timeline.

  1. List every option available to you at this point, including options you would prefer not to consider (e.g., delaying your own departure, mothballing the project, appointing a less-qualified successor).
  2. For each option, identify who would be most affected and what they would need to hear.
  3. Write the message you would send to the community explaining the change of plan. What do you owe them to disclose about what happened, and what is appropriately kept private?