Why do Succession Planning?

Transcription

1 Succession Planning or Your Chapter s Future: It s not all about you How do Chapters die? Why succession planning is good. And smart. How do I find my successor? So how do I get him/her elected? How do I train my successor? 2014 SFBAC Officer Training Workshop February 25, 2014 Michael s at Shoreline, Mtn View, CA Bill DeHope Why do Succession Planning? The Bathtub Mortality Curve & You! Something could happen to you. Yeah, you re gonna die. That s why you buy life insurance. Your section leaders want some insurance on you. Even if 50 chapters with 4 officers each only elect 30-year-olds, there s a 20% chance at least 1 will die this year. 1 (1-.001) 200 = 1 (1-.2) = 20% 2 1

2 Why do Succession Planning? Something could happen you Part B B as in Hey, I know! You can Chair IEEE s Celestial Section! 3 How do I recognize Burnout? I no longer feel challenged I m predictable I don t try new things Don t confuse burnout I take my position for granted with a nervous breakdown! I don t imagine my successor I m no longer somewhat humbled by my office I ve lost the respect I once had for others, esp. my superiors I don t plan the future much, hey, I know it all already. Am I a dynasty? Have I gotten too comfortable in IEEE? Not at attention, but at ease, though not slouching Does your posture give you away? Do I avoid stretching to challenges

3 So how do IEEE Chapters die? Mortal Death? <0.1% occurrence Gross misconduct of officers? <1% occurrence Field dies out, jobs go away, technical interest wanes? <5% occurrence No, cause of death is usually the Unholy Trinity: Lack of succession planning Overextension of existing officers Burnout of existing officers All are signs of burnout What do you mean by Overextension? 6 Literally, holding an office for more than 2 terms (ie 2 years), the IEEE limit Continuous cycling through the Treas-Secy-VC-Chair positions (8 years) Figuratively, stretching out your stay when you should be moving on Perhaps also clinging to something you should let go of??? It s not healthy for your chapter It s not healthy for you (do new things instead!) It cheats others out of opportunities you had Overextension squeezes out life get some New Blood instead Rx: successor planning + election 3

4 You have responsibilities as an officer 7 Typically Chapter Planning takes place before or after technical meetings So what happens when you go without a technical meeting? No planning gets done either! Dereliction of duty on the part of Secretary, Speaker Coordinator? Chair failed to motivate, nag, keep to schedule? All are signs of burnout. Your section is very concerned with this But we only see the chapter Chairs at section excoms. We don t know when he s become a one man show All sections can do is enforce the election rules That might be 1 year too late. What about the IEEE term limits? Think you re cute when you ve gotten away with it? You re not. You re setting your chapter up for eventual death. And that s not cute. But no one else will take this job! Oh yeah? How did YOU get the job? Are you trying as hard as your predecessor did? Is this personal? Do you have something to prove? IEEE can t be the haven for fragile egos Are you scared of something? The new, the untried? Maybe no one knows what your job is? Have you made it look easy? Automatic? Do you have job descriptions? Examples at Check out the Sections Congresses 8 4

5 Why do Succession Planning? Moving on might be better than not moving at all 9 Life is never stagnant. You re either moving forward or backward. Move UP in IEEE. Serve in Section, Council, Region You deserve it! Make room for others! Moving on to other things should be seen as moving up to other challenges Move on to start new chapters Move on to serve in appointed positions Move on to other service positions elsewhere Even your family! 2008 Maybe you will have a nervous breakdown! Why do Succession Planning? Part of leadership is grooming your successor All real leaders do this. You know I m right. Planned obsolescence isn t always bad. It s a common challenge before promotions Think of parenting. You have ~30 years to make your child independent of you. You re not doing anyone any favors if they remain dependent after that. This doesn t happen overnight Creation isn t easy Define your chapter s needs Who will make a good leader? Recruit/ court t that t person Plan & hold an election Have clear job descriptions Learn-a-job, do-a-job, teach-a-job, then move on

6 WHEN to do Succession Planning? All year long! Starting at the beginning of your term. Yes, the Chair needs to nag people, keep them on plan But finding (new) officer(s) is the MOST important job of the Chair Find your replacement! Bring them into your rotation. The election is an IEEE requirement But it is the culmination of a year s worth of thought, investigation, and grooming. Expecting nominations from the floor? You re dreaming. So HOW do you do succession planning? Go fishing! 11 How do you fish? With a net Announce a need for volunteers at your first meeting Use enotice for an . List some specific tasks, like membership chair, that you have a backup for. List your entry office for next year. Reference your job descriptions. Make it easy to reply to you. Ask trusted people for recommendations. Keep an eye out for someone and follow-up. With a spear Spot the regulars at your meetings. Take pictures and look for repeats. By your 3 rd meeting, spear em! (Pictures will be great for your website too!) Consider current and past colleagues. Spear em. With a pole Ask for volunteers. Who can bring cookies? Simple, non-critical tasks. Exchange cards. 12 Do they follow-through? Reel em in. 6

7 General suggestions: Life happens and you might lose an officer mid-year Something could happen to you Part C for career Rx: have flexible, well-trained officers who can adapt Have an officer rotation so others can cover the job. Cross-train but if swapping tasks, communication is critical Give little jobs to potential candidates Have appointed positions as your AAA farm team Honor your existing officers EVERY MEETING Make sure all are engaged lookout 4 burnout Discuss candidates at planning meetings Settle on the new officer(s) before the last (election) meeting. Be wary of over-ruling your other officers. Have an election. In-person or vtools. 13 Finally, hold an election! 14 Get your chapter thinking about it early in the year Announce a Nominating Committee Independent, avoid conflict-of-interest Have a slate of candidates Members must be free to nominate Minimal Action: Chair announce election and request nominations at the penultimate technical meeting of the year sample announcement follows Get buy-in from existing Excom officers in advance Look for fresh blood to bring into rotation Consider moving up to a Section officer, other position Hold the election at the final technical meeting of the year sample ballot attached tally votes; Teller s Committee should be independent, no CoI Post winners to IEEE via vtools Officer Reporting Form (L-10) 7

8 Sample election announcement and call for nominations. Display at the introductory part of your penultimate meeting. Nominations for the 2015 Executive Officers of the Can be sent to Oakland/East Bay Chapter of the Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society Bill DeHope, Nominating Committee University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 7000 East Ave. L-153 Livermore, CA Sample Election ballot: final meeting of the year IEEE Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society Oakland/East Bay Chapter Executive Committee Ballot 2015 Chairman: Joe Mauger Vice Chairman/Speaker Coordinator: Tony Lavietes Secretary: Paul Banchero Treasurer: Ed Lampo

9 At the Section level Know the cause of death, the Unholy Trinity Know the signs of impending death More than 2 terms in same position No one else will do it excuse Educate re. succession planning; urge election planning Attend meetings and honor the officers and the OFFICE Find another job for the worse offenders Are they maybe being too nice? Maybe your Section ExCom has the same problem!?!? Maybe you can prevent atrophy VOLUNTEER! Give them some life insurance for your chapter Summary The Unholy Trinity kills too many IEEE chapters Lack of succession planning + overextension + burnout IEEE forbids holding an office for more than 2 terms IEEE offices are an honor; let others have a chance Good leadership, like parenting, leads to independence Freedom and independence are good things! IEEE requires yearly elections! Seek out and cultivate future leaders Plan, and hold, a proper election every year What do you do? Tell us in a job description! We are our brother s keeper; look out for each other Give your section s leaders some life insurance! 9