Succession Planning Quick Plan
The primary reason we see SSA affiliate groups fade away is due to poor leadership transitions. Finding and training the next generation is absolutely essential to keeping your group alive after you graduate.
We'd love to see all our groups implementing a year-long succession plan. To that end, we have several resources on Succession Planning, including a Succession Planning Guide and a presentation from our Northern California Leadership Summit. They're great resources and have lots of information and tips to prepare your next gen leaders for success.
But we also realize that you can't go back in time, and sometimes the circumstances don't allow your group to plan that far in advance. If that's your case, we've prepared this "Succession Planning Quick Plan," courtesy of the UNCG Atheists, to help you use the time you have to train the best possible next generation of leaders.
This four-week plan can be shortened if necessary. The key elements are introducing new officers to the university resources and external support, and having the new officers run a meeting or event with former leader assistance.
Don't forget that we are here to help your group. If you are having trouble preparing for the future, have questions, or need help, don't hesitate to contact us!
Succession Planning: The Quick Plan
After the new officers have been elected to their positions for the following year, they will meet up with their counterpart who is currently in that position. These officers-elect will work with that individual to learn the job they will be doing over the next year. The plan can be spread over four weeks to work like this:
Week 1 -Campus Resources
Week 1 -Campus Resources
The current Officers will walk the Officers-elect through meeting all relevant campus resources and personnel for student groups. This should include
- The Student Activities office or equivalent,
- Any offices for reserving rooms and/or equipment on campus,
- Any campus organizations or interfaith groups the group is involved in,
- Any bank or budget offices involved with group funding,
- The group's faculty/staff advisor, and
- Any other offices, personnel, or campus resources for the group.
Week 2 -Digital Resources & External Support
The current Officers will introduce the Officers-elect to all necessary digital information for running the organization, and all external/affiliate support resources. This may include
- Any online archives, bookkeeping, documentation, or other information compiled by previous officers
- Any websites or online applications for campus resources
- The Secular Student Alliance campus organizer ([email protected])
- Campus organizers for CFI-On Campus or other affiliated organizations
- Leaders of local off-campus groups
Week 3 - Preparation
Officers-elect should setup and prepare for running the final meeting of the semester. They should be encouraged to do the majority of the work with assistance from past leaders; encourage them to learn delegation skills and efficient planning techniques.
Week 4 - Running a Meeting
Officers-elect, having prepared, will run the final meeting of the semester. Former officers should be in attendance and prepared to assist, but should only help when necessary.
After the Transition
We encourage former leaders to remain available, either in person or remotely, to assist with any unforseen problems and provide advice for the new leaders. Ensure that new leaders have contact information for former leaders, and make reasonable efforts to help when necessary.
Submitted by Lyz on Tue, 04/06/2010 - 01:11
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