I just told my team that I am retiring at the end of March. Top management does not have a plan for who will supervise them after I leave. They were surprised I was leaving and some are feeling abandoned. What is the best way to make this transition easy for them?

The Team Doc Says…

Congratulations! Now is the time to make them as self sufficient as possible. And you have a great opportunity to show your strong team leadership. But first you need to spend some time addressing their concerns and then develop solutions. I’m a firm believer in taking solutions to leadership rather than problems. And, in the long run, they could be much happier if their solution to the issue is implemented after you’re gone.

Have a meeting with them to air the issues they are worried about. Make the first half of the meeting just them sharing what their concerns are. Put everything on a flip chart like you would during a brainstorming session. Don’t try to resolve or discuss the issues while you are collecting them, just capture them on the chart.

Once all team members are done sharing their concerns, look for “like” concerns. Many team members may have the same concern that you can group together and address or there may be several different concerns. Take each item, one at a time, and talk through how that concern could be resolved. Let your team do a lot of the talking so this is their solution (since they’re the ones who will be there after you are gone).

After the team has developed solutions, make sure and prioritize. Then put together an approach to present to the leadership for how to tackle this challenge and manage once you’re gone.

Related posts:

1. Facilitate or Mediate Team Leader Conflict?
2. How to Eliminate Finger Pointing Between Shifts
3. Problem Solving Not An Intuitive Process For Some Team Members