Transition Plan: 7 Secrets Every Leader Needs to Know

You’ve trained for months. Three workouts a day. Wind sprints. Long distance. Weight training. Your speed and endurance are the best they’ll ever be. You’re at your peak, about to run the race of your life. And everything you’ve worked so hard for comes down to a few seconds on a track. The gun fires, and you fly faster than ever before. Your heart pounds. You sense that you’re breaking records with each step. But at the final turn, the unthinkable happens. Right as you’re extending the baton to the next runner, it somehow falls to the ground. You watch in slow motion as it hits the track, bouncing away from you. Up to that moment, everything had been perfect. But dropping the baton cost your team the race. And for the rest of your life, you wonder why you didn’t practice the transition.

While not all of us run relays, all of us do have to make transitions. But batons drop everyday in churches, businesses, and organizations. Sooner or later, you will face a transition. Will you be ready? If not, you may endure the agony of a failed transition. The good news is that you don’t have to. Not only can you avoid dropping the baton, you can even strengthen your organization by preparing for upcoming transitions.

Bob Russell is one of today s most influential leaders that you ve never heard of. He was the senior minister of Southeast Christian Church, located in Louisville, Kentucky for 40 years, until he retired in 2006. It is the 6th largest church in America, with more than 26,000 members. Amazingly, four years after leaving, the church continues to grow. Some are baffled at how the church could continue on without Bob. But, insiders know the secret: the transition. The story of the transition plan has slowly spread throughout the world. Pastor Rick Warren praises the transition as the only perfect one he s seen, and it s now being used as a template for organizations of all kinds. Bob is now enjoying his retirement with his wife Judy and also enjoys speaking, mentoring leaders, golfing, and is an avid University of Louisville football and basketball fan.

Bryan Bucher is currently the senior pastor of the Shawnee United Methodist Church in Lima, Ohio, and a Doctorate of Ministry student at Asbury Theological Seminary, where he is a Beeson Pastoral Fellow. He has been researching successful transitions for the past three years at organizations throughout the United States. He is married to Aimee, a stay-at home mom and self employed web designer. They have four sons: Max, Xavier, Elijah, and Toby. He writes a blog which you can find at ShawneeUMC.com. If he s not out trying to keep up with his sons, you can find him on his beloved Kawasaki Voyager motorcycle.