DB Reply - Brilliant Answers

            We know and have learned throughout this course that employees provide so much to an organization. The longer they are there the more knowledge they have brought to the company, and the more they can take with them when/if they decide to leave the company. This is much the same for those in leadership positions. Leaders can leave for several reasons including, retirement, better opportunities, and even health issues. This action can be felt throughout the organization. When that leader leaves he or she is taking any intellectual capital with them and it is something that is near impossible to replace.

            One challenge that comes about this change within the organization is that the direction of the team shifts or becomes blurred when the leader steps down (Next Bridge Consulting, 2015). The leader that has just stepped down for whatever reason is the one who was driving the team and creating the importance of the tasks they were completing. Without this driving force, it can become easy to question and doubt the importance of what you are doing as an employee (Next Bridge Consulting, 2015).

            The question then becomes how do we replace this leader? There are two ways to do this: replacement planning and succession planning. Replacement planning is when the focus is on individual employees being considered, these employees will be assessed to see what they are capable and where they may need improvement (Henemen, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2015). By keeping tabs on where the employees are in their developmental process it can be easy and quick to hire from within the company which will have bring with it many benefits. One benefit is the fact that these employees know what the processes and tasks are and how they are to be completed. They will not have to be trained on what to do or it needs to be done. They will need training on being in a leadership role.

            Succession planning builds on what the replacement is, but it ensures that the candidates are developing the correct set of KSAO’s to take over when the time comes (Henemen, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2015). Succession planning is pretty much picking the best candidate and grooming and mentoring them to the point that they will be ready to take over when/if it is time to step down. This will help to ensure there is no gap in leadership between stepping down and finding the replacement. This helps to make sure the transition is seamless.

            We can see the stress that is caused by a great leader who is leaving our presence in the Bible. Jesus Christ is the greatest that this world has ever had. His disciples followed him and listened to him as he imparted great knowledge unto them. When it came time for Jesus to go to the cross they began to stress and doubt what it was that they were doing. The reason he was leaving didn’t matter to them. The stress and sadness that is felt, especially when a good leader leaves can be unimaginable, but when there is plan in place it can help to ease some of that tension that is felt.

            It is inevitable for leaders to eventually step down for one reason or another. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the position is covered for when the step down does occur. The leader will be taking all their intellect with them but some of this intellect can be passed on to the employee that is being mentored by the leader. By ensuring there is a replacement in place it will also make it easier on the HR department. There’s no job posting that needs to be made and advertised and no hiring process to be conducted.

References

Henemen, H. G., Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. (2015). Staffing Organizations. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.

Next Bridge Consulting. (2015, April 1). What to do When a Senior Leader Leaves. Retrieved from Next Bridge Consulting: https://nextbridgeconsulting.com/when-a-senior-leader-leaves/