How to totally screw up a classic leadership situation

In the “do what I say, not what I do” department this week I met, and failed to handle well, a communication/leadership situation at work. Which just goes to show you that sometimes situations get away from you, and the best you can do is just handle it.

Here’s the sitch: I’m leaving my leadership role as director of one organization to a pseudo-step up. The details aren’t important, but what is important is that I’ll no longer be the director of day to day operations in the organization I’ve led for the past 5 years.

The right way to handle this

The textbook way to handle this sort of thing is to keep it buttoned down until you are absolutely certain that the move will happen (you get the job, whatever). Then, you create a transition plan, to the extent that you are able designating or at least identifying your replacement so that when you announce to your org that you’re leaving you can tell them what’s happening. Then, starting with your most senior leaders, you work rapidly through your organization explaining the change and what it will mean for them at each step. For me, this always culminates in an all hands meeting. In order to stay ahead of the rumors this has to be done quickly, all meetings happening in the space of just a few hours. It’s quick, orderly, everyone feels included, and rumors are squashed. I’ve done it this way, and it works. Swell.

The way it actually happened

…was much messier this time around. The process started well in that I had started coordinating transition with my leadership chain. My replacement is identified, and I’ve worked with him as well. He’s knows what’s coming, but no dates are set. My new role will have my old organization reporting to me, so we’ll be able to work together to make sure his transition is successful. All good. Almost ideal, in fact.

My staff doesn’t know anything: outside of my replacement they have no idea anything is changing.

Then things started to slide.

First of all I’m not at work this week (bad start). There is a newly-introduced element of time pressure in the days before my trip, and the announcement has to be made this week. I’m traveling so I won’t be there to announce in person, can’t be helped, definitely a bad start. (-10 leadership points)

I figure I’ll patch this up by announcing via email and then having my all hands meeting when I return next week. Getting worse, but still manageable.

Then, because I’m not local to my boss we get our wires crossed during final transition planning and she announces to my parent organization’s senior leadership (my peers) in a staff meeting, unknown to me, while I’m in the air en route to my destination. Poor planning and execution, my fault. (-25 leadership points)

I get a phone call while waiting for a connecting flight from my designated replacement who’s carrying buckets to the fire with both hands. Staff is confused, leaders in my org are alienated, no one knows the full story, rumors everywhere. Ka. Boom. (-1,000 leadership points)

At this point, the cat is out of the bag. Horse is out of the barn. Genie is out of the bottle. Only thing to do is to try to recover.

This is what I did

First, I typed an email and sent it to the whole staff and all of my peers. As best I could on a Blackberry trundling down the hall to get on a plane I explain where I’m going, why, and who’s replacing me. I also have to try and put into a few characters (my fingers growing numb) in email all of my complex emotions at having come to this difficult decision. I’m excited to have something new to do with new challenges, but I’m also surprisingly and profoundly sad at leaving this group that has been so, well, great to me over the years. I fail miserably, but the email goes out. (+5 leadership points)

Next, phone calls to my boss to try and patch things over with her. I’m pretty sure she’s ticked at the mayhem, and she should be. But she’s nice about it and doesn’t snatch my new assignment from me in retribution (if you’re reading this: thank you again for understanding).(+2 leadership points for me, +100 for her which don’t help me at all)

Finally, phone calls with my harried replacement, who is now Not Very Happy. I owe him a thanks. And an all hands meeting when I get back to explain myself to my staff. In person. Finally. The way God intended. (+1 pity leadership point, just for effort, because it’s too late)

Leadership tally: situation totally mishandled. Sometimes they get away from you, and all you can do is clean up the mess and DON’T DO IT AGAIN.