Passing It On: Growing Your Future Leaders (5 page)

Now Lakewood Church boasts the largest congregation in the United States with more than 43,000 worshipers a week, according
to its website. Joel Osteen’s television ministry goes out to listeners in one hundred countries, and his books are
New York Times
best sellers, reaching millions of readers. The media have called him one of the most fascinating people and one of the most
influential Christians in America. His father finished well because he had the foresight to choose a successor. John Osteen
saw his son as the one to fill his shoes, and before he passed, he had wanted others to see Joel in that role.

Mentoring a successor is not negotiable
. The leader accepts the responsibility of identifying and mentoring his or her successor. It is not a matter of “Should I?”
but, “When do I start?” It is not a matter of whether I should. It is an acceptance of “I must do this.” A study of the leadership
philosophy of Jesus Christ reveals his conscious commitment to identify and mentor His student and His successor, Simon Peter,
son of John. Consider His words:

John 16:4–7
“I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first
because I was with you. Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have
said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I
go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

These words reveal not only Jesus’ keen awareness of the transitional nature of His earthly assignment, but His commitment
to His mentees and to the preparation necessary for them to succeed Him. He also saw His departure as a trigger for greater
success and progress for His mentees, and He was determined to leave them for the sake of the organization’s success.

This spirit of sacrifice is exemplified in the story of Pablo Picasso’s father, who accepted his destiny to nurture the boy
who became one of the bestknown artists of all time. Picasso was mentored to greatness by his father, Don José Ruiz y Blasco.
A curator and art teacher, Don José recognized the genius in the little boy, giving him lessons at home and in the fine-arts
academies where the father taught. As the young man flourished under this careful
tutelage, the mentor realized his protégé’s talent so outshined his own that he had no more to teach him. Legend says that
Picasso’s father was so in awe of the youth’s talent that he gave the boy his brushes and palette, vowing never to paint again
himself. Don José sent his son away to study with greater teachers but often used his influence with journalists and jurists
in competitions to promote Pablo’s work.

He recognized the need to mentor intentionally, to prepare and promote a successor. It is essential that leaders not leave
the future stability, durability, and longevity of their organizations or families to chance. Leaders must see mentoring as
a necessity and requirement. Mentoring a successor must be as natural as leading and must become the motivator for leading.

Know when it is time to leave a position
. Leaders do not want to think about moving on to another life beyond their current position. Retirement or death should not
be the reason for leaving a position. Leaders should leave because they are moving on to the next phase of their life. One
of the secrets of successful transition is preparing your successor while preparing your own succession. To what do you succeed?
That is as important as who succeeds you. Some leaders have thought this through. At the age of 71, Howard Dodson Jr., the
director of the New York City Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, was looking toward the next
phase. Dodson, who has been credited with visionary leadership in historic preservation, announced nearly a year ahead of
time that he planned to retire in 2011 so the search for a successor could begin. While others focused on his long list of
accomplishments after a quarter century at the helm of a prestigious institution he had steered to greatness, he already had
an agenda for future discoveries and learning expeditions. In an interview for
The New Yorker
magazine, he said he would soon be heading off to Xi’an, China, Machu Picchu, Peru, and Ethiopia to see some of the world’s
treasures for himself. This was his time, not only to leave but also to do other things.

Perhaps as a historian, he was aware that ancient and contemporary history is replete with leaders who became so possessed
by their own sense of importance, power, and influence that they wanted to be buried in their office, have their title as
their tombstone and the accolades of their admirers as their wreaths. Nothing is as addictive and intoxicating as power, authority,
and influence. One of the most difficult decisions most
leaders have to make is to surrender the reins of power to another. True leaders must be secure enough to leave and fearless
enough to face their own future.

Knowing when to leave a position is essential and critical to leadership, and any mismanagement of delicate process can dismantle
and destroy years of hard work and investment of resources and human capital. This principle is so vital to the success of
the organization that it is better for the leader to leave too early than to stay too late.

Could you imagine a championship basketball or football player extending play on the team well after retirement age, attempting
to run the court or field with young firebrands itching for fame and glory? That champion would become the source of ridicule
and disgrace for the whole organization. This is why great players leave at the height of their game. Great CEOs depart at
the apex of their success. Great spiritual leaders leave when they are celebrated, not merely tolerated. True leaders do not
see death as the ultimate signal to leave a position, but rather they see the sense of completion of their phase and contribution
to the ongoing advancement of a vision bigger and nobler than their own existence.

One of the greatest examples we have of knowing when to leave is the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. After
achieving the highest position in his nation and reaching a goal he had desired for decades—one that demanded the sacrifice
of his personal freedom, he decided to let it go after only one term. His sense of transitional leadership and the need to
mentor a successor was stronger than his desire for power, influence, and control. Mandela is the prototype of the true leadership
spirit. He handed his successor, Thabo Mbeki, all the power and influence of thirty years of struggle in a thirty-minute ceremony.

Do not overstay your time
. Leaders who stay in a position too long do more damage than those who leave too soon. It is better to leave early than to
stay too late and retard the development of the next generation of leaders. By the time Fidel Castro stepped aside as the
leader of Cuba in 2008 at the age of 82, he was the focus of much criticism and ridicule, including from members of his own
family, as well as of allegations of corruption. His rare appearances in public seemed to serve merely as reminders that in
his weakened form he bore little resemblance to the striking, brash figure recalled from his earlier feats as the leader of
a revolution.

This is in sharp contrast to Jesus, who knew when His time had come and was prepared to hand over the reins. Consider His
prayer to the Father:

John 17:1–18
“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people
that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. “I have revealed you to
those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know
that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew
with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world,
but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to
me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father,
protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them,
I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that
Scripture would be fulfilled. “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they
may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not
of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them
from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you
sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

These words express the emotional and psychological state of Jesus Christ during the final days of His life on earth, as well
as His deep awareness of the transitional nature of His assignment. He not only communicates His inevitable departure but
also His confidence in the disciples’ ability to continue His work through their personal relationship with His Heavenly Father.
In essence, He delegated not only the vision and mission of His assignment, but He also delegated His relationship with His
father.

Understand that your greatest contribution to the future is your successor
. People usually miss this great secret. I am convinced that your successor should succeed you in your lifetime. Do not wait
to make succession decisions on your deathbed or leave it to others by failing to mentor, prepare, or designate a replacement.
The secret is to understand that when your successor is successful, you have made your greatest contribution.

Jesus set a leadership priority and kept a conscious focus not just on starting a project, but also on finishing effectively,
expressing deep dedication to completing His phase as a visionary leader. Note the following statements:

John 4:34
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

John 4:37–38
“Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done
the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

The principle of one sowing and another reaping implies that true leaders are always aware that they were not called to finish
the race alone but to prepare successors to pick up their portion of history and complete their phase. It is obvious that
the chosen successor of Jesus Christ, Simon Peter, did not have to create the vision of the kingdom of God. It was laid down
by his leader. He reaped the benefits of Jesus’ hard labor even unto death.

John 17:4
“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”

In an example from our day, the Dalai Lama, considered the spiritual and
temporal leader of Tibetan Buddhists, shocked some of his followers when he started talking about a succession plan because
tradition holds that succession of the Dalai Lama is by reincarnation from a long line of predecessors. In recent years, however,
the reigning Dalai Lama has spoken publicly of the possibility of referendum before his death, allowing the Tibetan people
a voice in the choice of a successor.

“When my physical condition becomes weak, and there are serious preparations for death, then the (referendum) should happen,”
he told a crowd of world religious leaders gathered in India, as quoted on
freeTibet.com
.

Some people attacked this idea as heresy, but the Dalai Lama insisted it was in keeping with the Buddhist tradition and that
the reincarnation or succession of the institution of the Dalai Lama was not necessarily automatic but subject to the people’s
approval. This greatly admired leader referred to himself on his website,
www.dalailama.com
, as a simple “Buddhist monk” and even joked in an interview on his website, that he was already in “semiretirement” after
the selection of an administrator to handle the temporal affairs of Tibet in 2001.

He had made his greatest contribution to the future by paving the way for succession and choosing someone to handle the day-to-day
operations while he was still around to guide the way, just as Jesus began to prepare Peter.

As an inspiring leader with passion, vision, and purpose, you are unique. The world has benefited from your gift. You have
reached the pinnacle of success. Nevertheless, you are a mortal. If you are thinking about succession, you probably hold a
responsible position. You know you need to move on to greater things.

Look around. Size up your colleagues. Who could replace you?

Measure success by the success of the successors.

I
STOOD AMONG
hundreds of wide-eyed visitors, young and old, from many different nations, in the center of a room filled with towering
statues of men and women who were the architects of a nation that has influenced the world as no other has since the Roman
Empire ruled the known world. Many of these images were well-known, and others were new to me as a tourist from the Bahamas
standing among the statues in the rotunda of the United States Capitol. The sculptures had one thing in common. They were
evidence of a legacy of the preservation, maintenance, protection, and, most importantly, the successful transfer of a vision
of a nation and governing ideology that still stands as a testimony to the reality of succession.