Kelly Johnson was a brilliant aeronautical engineer, and founder of the famed Lockheed Skunk Works. He led the production of the legendary U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. He twice won the Collier Trophy, engineering’s highest honor, and was one of the most talented and prolific aircraft designers in history. It was no small order, then, for Lockheed to find his successor upon his retirement in 1975. Who could possibly replace the legend who had given the world the fantastic mach-3 Blackbird? The man chosen to replace Johnson was a quiet, unassuming engineer named Ben Rich.
Rich didn’t appear to have what it took to follow Johnson. Kelly Johnson was a natural risk-taker. He could not only cast a bold vision for the cutting-edge aircraft the military needed, but had the engineering chops to actually see them built and flown. Rich, by contrast, was a nerd, and had none of Johnson’s brash salesmanship. At the time he took over the Skunk Works, their most lucrative projects were long past, and just a few contracts were keeping the company going, with no great advances on the horizon.
But Rich never wanted to lead like Kelly Johnson. Instead he set down his own path. Using his engineering mind, he attacked the problem of leadership by breaking it down into its component parts, then went to solving the issues one by one. An obscure paper on the behavior of radar waves by a little-known Russian mathematician gave Rich his big break. He had discovered the secret of stealth. He would go on to create the F-117, America’s first fighter jet that was invisible to radar. It’s oddly-faceted shape earned it the nickname the ”hopeless diamond”.[1] Rich went on to win his own Collier Trophy.
According to a Harvard Business Review study, companies around the world lose more than $1 trillion in market value annually due to poor leadership transitions. In fact, about 50% of all CEOs successors fail in their first 18 months on the job.[2] The most common reason given for that failure is “poor fit to the company culture.” Succeeding legendry leader Chuck Kelly wasn’t an exercise in trying to be the man he was. Rich never tried to be a clone of Kelly Johnson. He did the best job he could as CEO with the talents, gifts and abilities he had to employ for the role.
The reason we called a leadership transition “succession” is that it is a forward-looking process. Every generation of leader will face new and different obstacles, challenges and goals. Looking back and trying to recreate past success will fail. Instead, a leader must look ahead to the future. In the Old Testament we can read about one of the biggest leadership transitions of all time. Moses, who brought his people out of Israel and across the Red Sea, was dying. His designated successor was his right-hand man, Joshua.
What leader would want to follow Moses, among the greatest names of all time? Deuteronomy 34:10-12 says of Moses, “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” Even the Bible says there will never be another leader like Moses! He would be a tough act to follow. Into this environment God chose Joshua to lead going forward. What can we learn about leadership transition from this hand-off?
Accept the role God gives you. As Moses is nearing the end of his life, he passes the leadership mantle to Joshua. Deuteronomy 31:7 says, “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.’” Joshua had been working with Moses since his youth (Numbers 11:28). Joshua went with Moses to Mount Saini to receive the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:13). He was present at the Tent of Meeting when Moses talked directly to God. He was the most likely successor. He had been witness to Moses’ leadership. Joshua knew Moses would not enter the Promised Land, and that it would be his task to lead the people of Israel to their permanent home.
When the leadership role was passed to Joshua, he accepted it as coming from God. Sometimes leaders ascend into a top role, or even fight for the top role, without stopping to consider if that is indeed the role that God wants for them. The Bible speaks far more about the role and responsibilities of servants than it does about leaders. Notice that Joshua accepts the role with grace and dignity. There was no grandstanding or “casting a new vision”. Perhaps the greatest character trait a new leader can have is humility—a sense of reverence for those who came before, and sense of the challenge to carry on and move the organization going ahead. Add to that gratitude. A leader should have a thankful attitude, showing grace and favor to those who came before him.
Seek the wisdom of God available to you. Following Moses death, Joshua begins to lead. Deuteronomy 34:9 says, “Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.” God gives Joshua a tool for leadership he will need in great supply—wisdom. A man coming into a leadership role needs excellent discernment. He needs to know who to listen to. He must have an understanding of the organization and of his role. God gave Joshua this knowledge so that he would be successful in the role.
A leader may assume he has the role because of his own abilities—he’s earned it. But knowledge and experience alone is likely not enough to sustain him as a leader. Upon entering leadership, a man does not possess all of the tools he will need to be successful. The relationships he will form, the subordinates he will recruit, the structure he will organize, the process he will develop—all these will be necessary to a future he does not yet know. He’ll need wisdom going forward, as what faces him will be different than what his predecessors faced. Joshua was led by God out of Egypt, but he faced the challenge of a new land to conqueror, one with which he was not familiar. Remember if God puts you in a challenging role, you’ll need to look to Him first for the wisdom to handle it.
Be a faithful leader by example. While Moses led by God’s edict, Joshua would lead by example. God gave Joshua wisdom, strength and courage. He would use these to challenge the people to follow God and remain faithful to Him. In Joshua 24, he recounted God bringing the nation out of Egypt in detail, then declared, “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15).
Perhaps the greatest responsibility of leadership is that of succession. It causes the leader to constantly be thinking ofwho will be next.Leadership is far less about making decisions or casting a compelling vision than it is about the important relationships one builds that will point to the next leader in line. For Joshua, he set the tone of leadership with his whole household. How did his leadership turn out? Judges 2:6-7 records, “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel.”
A good listener must be people oriented, genuinely interested in others. He must be empathetic, equally concerned with the well-being of those around him.