Question “obvious” Successions

As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Joel and Abijah . . . were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice. 1 Samuel 8:1-3

Every opening on your leadership team should be subject to review, especially if an apparent successor has been with your organization for a long time.

In Samuel’s case, the obvious reason for hiring from outside was his sons’ corruption. But there’s another reason to conduct a thorough search when you need to fill a key leadership role.

Filling a leadership opening with someone who has been around for a long time could mean missing a chance to bring new ideas into the organization.

Loyalty is a good thing, unless it’s loyalty to the way you’ve always done things.

New people also bring an exciting sense of uncertainty and anticipation to the table that causes everyone to think differently, and this is almost always a good thing.

Succession to leadership should never be automatic or guaranteed.