Q006
When do you tell
your people?
our take .
Obviously you have to tell your successor that they’re your successor eventually. But there are some legitimate concerns about publicly anointing someone heir too early. An internal candidate might think they can take their foot off the gas if there’s the sense that the position has been promised to them. And, it could make things tricky if circumstances in the business or your talent pool or your timeline change and you need to alter the plan.
So what’s the answer? If you’re hiring internally, be clear with your potential successor that you’re interested in continuing to develop them, but that you’re not promising a particular position, promotion, or role. When considering when to make a decision public, there’s a calculation you’ll have to make between proximity to transition, temperament of your successor, and your own willingness to let go.
No company operates well under murky leadership. Clarity around who is in charge is critical. If someone has to report to the old CEO and the new CEO simultaneously, make sure you acknowledge what that person is juggling. People can’t juggle for long. It’s science.
on paper.
character to consider: Travis Kalanick
Blind on all sides
In 2017, Uber was rapidly expanding, but the company was mired in scandals related to its aggressive corporate culture, legal issues, and allegations of sexual harassment. The board recognized that its then-CEO, Travis Kalanick, who had co-founded Uber and built it into a global powerhouse, was becoming a liability. Behind the scenes, the board began succession planning, quietly looking for an experienced leader who could stabilize the company and shift its culture. Their plan was to give Kalanick time to transition out gracefully, while preparing a successor to take over. But the board delayed formally communicating any succession plan or identifying a potential successor to Kalanick or to the rest of the company. To be fair, the writing was on the wall (literally – leadership convened a war room with survey results about Uber and Kalanick, putting the most damning evidence up around the room), but without real communication, chaos ensued. Employees and investors began calling for Kalanick's removal, yet Kalanick remained in the dark about the board's intentions. When major investors started demanding his resignation, Kalanick still refused to believe it.
From smooth transition to scramble
Uber scrambled to fill the leadership void. From a Wall Street Journal article published at the time of Kalanick’s resignation: “Uber has no replacement for Mr. Kalanick and is running without financial and operating chiefs and other key executives after several recent departures, including one of the CEO’s top deputies who was pushed out last week by the board.” The problem of succession planning wasn’t limited to the CEO. The board quickly moved to recruit Dara Khosrowshahi from Expedia, but this decision came only after months of instability, during which multiple executives resigned and several key positions went unfilled. Presumably, it’s difficult to tell your people the plan when there is, fundamentally, no plan. Without a designated or prepared successor, there was no smooth transition, leading to confusion among employees, a decline in morale, and damage to the company's public image. And, the continued delays in communication about what was happening with the replacement, who it would be, and indeed what they actual status of Kalanick’s employment was left investors jittery and Uber’s already tarnished reputation worsened. The scramble to find a new CEO further deepened the leadership crisis, and the company saw several senior executives leave, complicating Khosrowshahi’s task once he was eventually brought in.
Works Consulted:
Behind the Epic Meltdown That Ended Travis Kalanick
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Quits as Investors Revolt
More Succession Topics→
←Q005 What Steps Can You Take to Begin?
Q007 How Do You Tailor a Succession Plan for Your Org?→
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