Bill SituClub President At the beginning of this month, our club welcomed aboard a new executive team. Some of the officers were re-elected, but a few were brand new to their elected positions. This means that we've had to do succession planning. As I like to call it, we've had to keep our campfire going. You'll see in a bit what I mean exactly :) Campfires and LeadershipWow, summer's now in full swing! Normally, this would be an excellent time to go camping. Sadly, the current situation might not make it feasible :( However, I hope I can still get you into the camping spirit with a (virtual) campfire story :) The first recorded use of fires by humans was about 300,000 years ago. Since then, fire has been an integral part of human survival. In the wilderness, a fire serves a number of vital functions. We use it for cooking food, keeping out harmful animals, and creating warmth. It also provides us with a source of light and can help us signal to rescue personnel if, God forbid, a situation necessitates it. In an organization, leadership is as necessary as a fire is in the wilderness. There is another striking similarity between leadership and campfires. Without people actively maintaining them, they will die out over time. Once a campfire dies out, it becomes very difficult to rekindle. The same goes for leadership in a team. Speaking of campfires, the YouTube channel, Crazy Russian Hacker, has many awesome videos on this topic. Check them out! Maintaining Successful LeadershipKeeping a campfire going requires a few things. First, we need to regularly add fuel, that is, firewood, to it. We also need to fan the fire and arrange the pieces of firewood so that they stack on top of each other. Sorry, I know this sounds nerdy! I've been on too many field training exercises in both cadets and now, the Canadian Forces, haha! Maintaining successful leadership in an organization also requires initiative. This initiative is what we commonly call succession planning. Succession planning simply means preparing our successors to take on our current role(s). I have done two terms as VP Education to date. Both times, upon finishing my term, I trained the incoming VP Ed in taking on my role. Having just been a Sergeant-at-Arms this past term, I'm now working to get the current S@A up to speed. This way, he can learn his role and be able to properly perform his job in the months ahead. Succession planning does involve plenty of coaching, which I talked about at length in a previous post. Leaders Can't Last Forever, but Leadership MustThis statement may sound paradoxical, but let me get things straight for you :) The word "leader" here means the person who heads an organization. Leadership refers to the quality of being a leader.
Surely, no leader can last forever. Here in Canada, general elections must take place every four years. This applies to the federal, provincial, and municipal-level governments. At UBC, my alma mater, student government elections happen annually. In Toastmasters, a president can serve for no longer than 12 months consecutively (this means I must step down by next January). Even so, quality leadership must persist even with different leaders in place. Planning for succession does take time, energy, and effort. Nevertheless, it is the only way to ensure that successful leadership can continue. A team may have a really brilliant leader at one point in time. However, if that leader doesn't plan for succession, the team might just fall into ruins in the end. This is certainly the last thing I would want to do! What else do you do to plan for succession? Post down below! If not, you can also share tips about fires if you're an outdoors expert! Let's have a lovely fireside chat :)
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