In the military, we lived the mantra that "No one is irreplaceable." One of the earliest lessons I learned was that leadership isn't just about performing well in your role. Rather, it's about ensuring that the person who follows in your footsteps can do an even better job. "Train your replacement" wasn't just a phrase, it was a mindset, a mission, and in many ways, a promise.
This principle is applicable not only in the military, but across all sectors of society, including municipal government and management. Whether we are in combat boots or business attire, the fact remains that our time in any given role is temporary. What truly matters isn't just what we accomplish during our tenure, but how well we prepare our successors.
From the Field to the Office: Passing the Baton
In the military, succession planning is ingrained in the culture. The idea is not to wait for someone to leave before thinking about who will replace them, but rather to continually develop and train your team. This isn't about self-promotion, it's about ensuring the success of the mission. If a single departure can cause the entire system to collapse, then that system wasn't strong to begin with.
Unfortunately, this principle often gets lost in civilian life. Promotions can happen suddenly, retirements can come unexpectedly, and before you know it, there's a leadership vacuum. Institutional knowledge walks out the door, momentum slows down, and organizations are left scrambling to rebuild.
This, however, is not an inevitability.
Bridging Generations, Not Just Gaps
The modern workforce is made up of individuals from five different generations, each with their own unique experiences, expectations, and energy. While it can be easy to focus on the differences between these generations, we should remember that everyone wants to make a meaningful contribution to their work.
The key to unlocking this potential is mentorship. Mentorship is about more than just giving advice over a cup of coffee. It's about building trust, showing vulnerability, and sharing your playbook with someone else. If we want our cities and organizations to thrive, we need to prioritize mentorship, from the city council to the smallest non-profit organization.
Lighting the Way Forward
Preparing the next generation of leaders doesn't mean stepping aside, it means stepping up in a different way. It means realizing that the best legacy you can leave isn't a list of personal achievements, but a list of individuals who were made better by your leadership.
That's where platforms like CityGov come in. CityGov doesn't just share stories, it captures moments in time and provides a record of today's leaders. It offers a space for reflection, sharing, and inspiration. After all, the person reading an article on CityGov today could very well be the person filling your shoes tomorrow. And that, ultimately, is the goal.
Works Cited
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Deal, Jennifer J., and Alec Levenson. "What Millennials Want from Work: How to Maximize Engagement in Today’s Workforce." New York: McGraw Hill Education, 2016.
Ely, Robin J., and David A. Thomas. "Cultural Diversity at Work: The Effects of Diversity Perspectives on Work Group Processes and Outcomes." Administrative Science Quarterly 46, no. 2 (2001): 229-273.
Hall, Douglas T., and Kathy E. Kram. "Mentoring in a Context of Diversity and Turbulence." In Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research, and Practice, edited by Belle Rose Ragins and Kathy E. Kram, 90-108. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2007.
Ruderman, Marian N., Patricia J. Ohlott, and Ellen Ensher. "Developing Leaders via Experience: The Role of Developmental Challenge, Learning Orientation, and Feedback Availability." Journal of Applied Psychology 88, no. 4 (2003): 619-630.