Managing the Biggest Transition of All

Imagine after four or more years of leadership your company was going to change its entire management team and philosophy. Add to that image that the person coming in as the next CEO has never been a CEO nor managed a transition anywhere near this size (if at all).

If you have any organizational experience at all this thought scares you.

It leaves you wondering about the effectiveness of the organization both before and (long) after the transition, doesn't it? It also leaves everyone in the organization on pins and needles.

They know change is coming, but they don;t know about the future direction and they aren't at all sure what the changes mean to them in their work. It is human nature to wonder, talk about and worry a bit about these sorts of sweeping changes. Plus, when we are thinking about and talking about these sorts of issues our productivity dramatically drops.

Now imagine that the organization in question isn't producing and selling cars, cat food or clothes. That organization is leading the largest country and economy in the world.

All of what you just read is true for the United States in the coming months, regardless of who wins the election this fall. Let me make it even more dire from an organizational development standpoint. We won't even know who that new leader is until about 10 weeks before they take over - and many of their leadership team (read Cabinet members) won't be on board for weeks, even months, later!

When you add that into the initial story, the challenges become even greater and the impacts even more severe.

And yet, we go through this process every 4-8 years. And from what I can see as a layperson, we as a country don't have systems, processes and even expectations to improve this situation.

I write this on the morning Senator Obama will give his address in Denver at the DNC, and just a few days before Senator McCain will do the same in the Twin Cities at the RNC. While I know they must both continue to focus on winning the election, I would hope they both believe they will win. And, given that belief, they should begin now planning the transition to make the first several months of their leadership successful and efficient.

Understand, this isn;t about politics. It is about organizational change, leadership and a leader's ability to plan effective transitions.

Jamie Gorelick and Slade Gorton, two members of the 9/11 Commission, wrote an Op/Ed piece for the New York Times on July 16th that provided an overview about some of the key issues of this transition from a National Security perspective. Their insight is valuable and their specific recommendations are instructive. The list that follows borrows from and extends their suggestions, considering the full scope of a transition (not just from a National Security perspective) and highlighting the urgency that we should all feel about making this transition quicker and more effective.

The Transition Imperatives

Change the Focus. Yes, the candidates want to win, but they want to more than win - they want to make a difference in office. To best do that, they need to be able to begin with a team in place on January 20. To achieve this they must invest more time and resources, and create a trusted transition team, NOW.

Create a Sense of Urgency. This transition will be a huge job for either candidate. A complete transition team with the ability to command some of the candidate's time and focus must be in place now in order to create the momentum needed for success.

Determine the key interfaces and steps. To make this transition go faster, leaders need to be vetted and the process for confirmation in Congress needs to start much sooner. Wouldn't you want all of your management team on board the day you begin? The same should be true in politics. All Cabinet members and other top spots should be identified, filled and confirmed by Inauguration.

Start now. Senator Obama should make this a key job next week, while he will likely be laying low during the RNC. Senator McCain needs to be on this task now too. The work is massive and the time to start is now. Every day of delay will reduce the effectiveness of the team once either one takes office.

Build the right relationships. If not already identified, the transition team needs to be built, and the relationships required to identify all of the future leaders on the team should be in full swing now. Make no mistake - in this or any other transition, relationships will help create speed and identify the best people for the jobs needed to be filled.

Our Lessons?

The good news is the transitions you face won't ever be as daunting as the ones facing Senators Obama and McCain. The challenges you face are the same though. In both cases we must:

• Change the goal from “How will we get started?” to “How quickly can we be successful?”
• Create a sense of urgency.
• Determine the key interfaces and steps.
• Start sooner.
• Build the right relationships.

I hope you will watch the candidates, and our eventual President-elect, as they lead their transition plans. I hope there will be positives to learn from their example, but even if there isn't, you will find fertile learning from their mistakes or missteps.

Potential Pointer: As leaders, we must become good at managing the transitions that inevitably come. Given the productivity costs of any transition, it is the leader's job to speed up the transition process. The best leaders plan all transitions proactively and invest thought, actions and resources to making those transitions happen sooner and more quickly.

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