A few days ago, I did something I’ve been quietly dreading for months: I sat down with our incoming board chair and vice chair to walk through the final phase of our leadership transition.  Lovely, capable people, no doubts there.  What made it hard was releasing control and stepping into the unknown.

For six years, I’ve served as board chair, stabilizing the organization after a governance crisis, steering us through a pandemic, and helping us grow into a fiscally sound, mission-centered institution.  Letting go now isn’t about fear.  It’s about trust—trusting that the coaching, planning, and habits we've built will carry forward.

This transition has gifted me the opportunity to practice what I preach about navigating uncertainty.  Most transitions don’t trip us up because they’re unfamiliar, they trip us up because we have nothing to hold onto.  That’s why I relied on three handles during this transition: vision, values, and vehicles.

• Vision gave us a shared direction and a north star captured in the succession plan I crafted for the team and the strategic planning process we’re finalizing.  For your transition ask yourself, what are we headed?  How will we know when we get there?  These questions will help paint a clear picture of the destination.  
• Values anchored our way of being, like my constant refrain to “zoom in and zoom out,” even when the team *probably* grew tired of hearing it.  Whether you’re growing or scaling back, how you make decisions matters just as much as what you decide.  What values will guide you through uncertain moments?
• Vehicles, our systems, routines, and rituals, helped turn all this intention into actual momentum.  Like the weekly leadership check-ins I instituted or the organizational dashboard we now use to track progress, systems can make or break a transition.  What systems do you already have, or still need, to support your next phase?

My advice to managers: if you’re navigating a transition, new role, new team, new phase, don’t just brace for change.  Build handles.  You may not control the waves, but you can learn to surf.

With the right handles, vision, values, and vehicles, you don’t just survive the transition.  You grow from it.  And if you’ve done the work, you leave knowing the team is ready to carry the mission further than you ever could alone. That’s not an ending.  That’s legacy.

‍Ready to navigate your next transition with more clarity and confidence? Whether you're stepping into a new role, leading a team through change, or just learning to surf. We'd love to help.👉 Schedule a time to talk, and let’s explore how vision, values, and the right systems can support your journey.