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.