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339

Succession Planning
Preparing for the Transitions in our 
Professional Life
Susan Ebertz, Emerita Associate Professor and Director for the Library, 
Wartburg Theological Seminary

ABSTR ACT:  As one thinks about the transitions and career moves 
in one’s professional life, succession planning may be something 
to consider. Succession planning may also be utilized for short term 
absences such as vacation or sabbaticals. Whether one leaves all the 
responsibilities until one returns or cross-trains someone to do the 
tasks or do some of the tasks while “gone” needs to be contemplated. 
Feelings of obligation to the organization may determine how much 
energy is spent in the process. The session will look at identifying 
and developing skills within the library staff and mentoring the staff 
not only for the library but for future jobs they may have. Succession 
planning also involves preparing supervisors and administration in 
order to help manage the transitions and changes that will inevitably 
arise when staff leave or have a new position within the organization. 
The session ended with a time for discussion.

It is important to see my context in order to understand my remarks. I 
retired last summer after working at Wartburg Theological Seminary 
in Dubuque (Iowa) for 26 years. I was the director of the library 
and associate professor. I had one paraprofessional for 36 hours 
per week, and approximately 36 hours per week of student work-
ers. Usually, the paraprofessional lasted for about three years since 
it was an entry-level position. I had a six-month sabbatical every 
three-and-a-half years. I would need to find someone to be either a 
sabbatical replacement or divide up the tasks between the staff per-
son and students. I usually took my sabbatical in the spring because 
by then the tasks had become routine for the students. The topic for 
this session came about through my reflections on my career and 
on the situation when I retired.



340    ATL A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

Succession planning is leadership development, systematic, and 
ongoing. One of the classics on succession planning or executive 
continuity is Walter Mahler and William Wrightnour’s Executive 
Continuity: How to Build and Retain an Effective Management Team 
(Mahler and Wrightnour 1973). It is old but has good material. In 
addition, a good blog entry on succession planning was published 
in 2021 in Atlassian’s Work Life blog. Author Kat Boogaard gives a 
good summary of succession planning (Boogaard 2021).

For me, succession planning was developing leadership skills 
with the paraprofessional staff and students, as well as teaching 
them various library tasks. I used the free version of a project 
management software for assigning tasks and responsibilities to 
the paraprofessional and students. They were all considered staff 
and were assigned responsibilities. We also had an extensive docu-
ment system with procedures for all the tasks and responsibilities. 
Helping staff know what their responsibilities are, how to do a good 
job, and feel successful in performing them are all important for 
leadership development.

Mentoring the staff is also an important component of leadership 
development. I was talking with someone recently who mentioned 
that it is hard to teach someone who doesn’t want to be taught. The 
relationship with the person is important in creating the atmosphere 
necessary for good learning to take place. It also may be the case 
that COVID-19 pandemic experiences have taught people to learn by 
themselves rather than from another person. Helping that person 
realize through relationship that there are different ways of learn-
ing may be effectual in that case. Mentoring provides the relational 
element. 

There are three scenarios involved in mentoring. Though the 
actual mentoring may be similar, the amount of time invested may 
vary according to how long the replacement will be. 

• The first scenario is when you are leaving and need 
a replacement. The mentoring would include teach-
ing everything that you do. (You may not want to 
announce that you are retiring or in the job market! 
It is possible that once the announcement is made, 
you will be seen as a lame duck.)

• The second situation in mentoring is when you need 



Listen and Learn Sessions    341

someone to fill in for the short term. This would be 
the case in which you are taking a long vacation or 
a sabbatical or other paid time off. You will need 
to decide what you want to have someone else do. 
When I took sabbaticals, there were some tasks that 
I still did. In the case of vacations, I was never away 
long enough for this to matter: either I did the tasks 
before I left or after I got back. 

• The third scenario is mentoring to help someone 
grow into a possible future position. There have 
been student workers who later became librarians 
because of their job in the library. The skills they 
learned and the support and encouragement they 
felt helped them in the discernment process. 

Another classic management book is Peter Drucker’s Managing 
Oneself (Drucker, 2008). In it he asks several questions that we should 
ask ourselves to help us understand ourselves. When we understand 
ourselves and use that to help others understand themselves, we 
can begin to help in leadership development. 

The first question is “What are my strengths?” (Drucker 2017, 4). 
Drucker believes that we may not always know our own strengths 
and suggests that feedback analysis may be an important tool in 
discovering what they are. 

His second question is “How do I perform?” (Drucker 2017, 12). 
He first asks in relation to this whether we are a reader or a lis-
tener (Drucker 2017, 14). Readers are those who need time to think 
about an answer or give a presentation. Listeners can understand 
a situation and reply to what is needed at the time. In understand-
ing how one performs, Drucker also asks the question “How do I 
learn?” (Drucker 2017, 17). Some learn through writing. Others learn 
through talking. If we think we learn through one way but actually 
learn through another, we may mess up. Also, it is important to 
know whether one is a loner or works with people (Drucker 2017, 
21). (Drucker has several other questions that help a person to figure 
out how they perform.)

The third question is “What are my values?” (Drucker 2017, 24). 
This is an important one. If what is important to us is not what is 
important to the company or institution, we will not succeed. This 



342    ATL A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

does not just include ethics. It includes the way in which things are 
done as well. Mission and goals may differ between the person and 
the organization, which may create problems if not recognized.

The fourth question is “Where do I belong?” (Drucker 2017, 33). 
This question deals with discernment of vocation and the type of 
organization that is the best fit.

The final question is “What should I contribute?” (Drucker 2017, 
35). There are two aspects involved in this question. The first one 
concerns what we actually contribute to the organization. The next 
deals with what we want to contribute to the organization. Sometimes 
these two things match up and we feel content in where we are. 
However, if our worth is not valued or we do not feel appreciated 
then there will be dissatisfaction. Drucker then talks about using 
these questions to understand our relationships. In our mentoring 
then, we need to understand these so that we can actually help the 
person develop leadership skills.

Succession planning not only involves leadership development; 
it is systematic. In my former position, the paraprofessional posi-
tion was entry-level so I either encouraged them to find better jobs 
or they left because they found better jobs. I encouraged them to 
learn new skills and different skills than they came with. I wanted 
them to learn things that they could then use in their next position. 
Recently I was talking with the supervisor of someone who had 
taken a better position elsewhere. The supervisor thanked me for 
training the person so well. That may not have helped our organi-
zation, but it did help the profession. There was a case in which a 
person who worked in our library later started a library in a small 
town to which she had moved. The town had no library. With the 
skills she learned in our library she was able to start a library. She 
got funding and a space from the town to do so. 

Succession planning should be an ongoing activity. If not to develop 
people for our position, it is helpful to develop people for the library 
position or adjacent types of vocation. If you are thinking about 
transitioning to a new job, it is helpful to begin before you even are 
thinking about it. And perhaps if it is ongoing, no one would know 
that you are thinking of leaving.



Listen and Learn Sessions    343

In a Father’s Day sermon given on June 16, 2024, by Michael 
Ohno at Anaheim Revive Church, Ohno talks about how a father can 
mentor a son. He mentions there are three important steps in men-
toring: “the foundation of relationship is being loved and known;” 
“the father teaches and models for the son;” and “the father trusts 
and empowers the son” (Ohno 2024). As I listened to the sermon, I 
thought about how leadership development through mentoring fol-
lows those three steps. The relationship with the person is important 
and the mentee should understand that the mentor respects and 
appreciates the mentee. The third step of trusting and empowering 
is key to the mentoring relationship. 

We turn now to the idea of preparing supervisors and admin-
istrators. When I was planning on retiring, I wanted to influence 
what happens in the library after I left. There were some important 
projects that I wanted to see continued in the library. 

In talking about influencing supervisors and administrators, I 
want to pull together several threads. The first thread comes from 
a presentation that Chris Rosser and Michael Hanegan did for the 
Atla Board of Directors to help the board understand AI better. The 
presentation on Wednesday, Jun 19, 2024, talked about en no shita 
no chikara mochi which translated from Japanese to English means 
“The strong one under the floor.” Rosser and Hanegan talked about 
the library as being the strong one holding up the floor of the educa-
tional institution. However, those above the floor do not see what is 
beneath it. The administration and faculty do not see that the library 
is holding them up. Becoming more visible to the administration and 
faculty is important. (See also Hanegan and Rosser, 2023.)

Another thread is from an In Trust podcast with Amy Kardash 
and Frank Yamada, “Leadership, Innovation, and What’s Ahead 
in Theological Education” (Hufman 2024). Frank Yamada used the 
term churn several times to describe the situation in theological 
education because of the number of schools that have new CEOs or 
Academic Deans in the last six years. Most have no experience in 
administration. Some of these have not come out of an academic 
institution and do not understand the role of the library. They do 
not see that the library is holding the institution up.

How do we mentor administrators, especially new ones, to under-
stand theological libraries? How do we effect change or achieve 



34 4    ATL A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

goals? Ultimately, effecting change is the issue behind understand-
ing and navigating institutional politics. As we consider this issue, 
it is important that we realize that one of our goals is not for our 
own power; rather it is that we can further the goals of the wider 
organization. The mission of your library is less important than the 
mission of your school, and the library’s mission should be in support 
of the seminary’s mission. That said, it is important that sometimes 
change or achieving goals can help the organization (Ebertz 2013).

We will basically look at three perspectives on understanding and 
navigating institutional politics. There are multiple perspectives to 
consider in understanding and navigating institutional politics: we 
have to consider the formal and informal organization of both the 
library and the broader institution. The library’s formal organization 
may have a head of the library: the library director or dean. The 
institution has a president or rector at the top of the organizational 
chart. There is a hierarchy. Everyone knows to whom they report 
and who reports to them. Someone is the boss. There is structure. 
The relationships are set. We know where we belong. We know who 
has the formal power.

The informal organizational chart may look totally different. The 
Administrative Assistant has lunch every day in the refectory with 
three people. The four of them share what is going on and have 
built relationships with each other. The VP of Finance always eats 
in her office. There is no hierarchy. There is no formal structure. 
Relationships can change. Someone may feel left out or even power-
less in the informal organization. Let’s look at some of the dynamics 
of formal versus informal power.

If you are the director of the library, you have formal power within 
the library. “Formal power is the power granted by an organization 
to whomever is in charge or responsible” (Ebertz 2013, 396). There 
may be specific decisions associated with this power. For example, a 
library director may have the responsibility to make decisions about 
purchasing periodicals. However, most library directors would likely 
agree that they lack formal power within the theological institution. 
In most seminaries or theological institutions, in fact, the library 
director has very little formal power at all. So in a sense there is both 
the inside and the outside of library politics. In one situation you 
have the formal power; in the other you do not. Similar principles 



Listen and Learn Sessions    345

apply to both situations. The difference is in how you affect that 
change or achieve goals.

Informal power, on the other hand, is the power granted by 
others in the organization and is built on the relationship with oth-
ers within the organization. It can be someone that others trust or 
respect, or be someone who is very competent. Sometimes a hint 
of this can be seen when something new is suggested at a meeting. 
Who do people glance at? In other words: “others see the person as 
a leader” (Ebertz 2013, 396). Those with informal power can influ-
ence certain decisions that are probably not given to them through 
formal means. The informal organizational chart helps to examine 
the flow of information and examine the strength of each person’s 
network relative to the others. For example, a library director may 
not be able to put a new procedure in place if the influencers in the 
library are not in agreement with the changes. For example, if you 
are implementing a new ILS, you will want to get the library staff 
on board with the change to the new ILS. This is to help those with 
informal power to get on board. 

To effect change and achieve goals the informal power wielders 
(influencers) need to be brought on board. So, if you are at the top 
of the formal organization and you want to effect change, you will 
need to influence the influencers. I was on an ATS accreditation visit 
once where a student talked about the president as being hierarchi-
cal, monarchical, and whimsical. The president forcibly pushed his 
agenda through and did not have the support of the students, staff, 
and faculty. The mission of the school was in jeopardy because the 
one at the top did not understand the importance of the interplay 
between formal and informal power.

Trust and transparency are important virtues. Influencers will 
follow formal leadership they can trust. Being transparent means 
that the influencers do not wonder what the real agenda is. Similarly, 
team building is important. When those who report to you feel that 
they are a part of the team, they are more likely to trust you. The 
influencers know that they are a part of the process and are not 
powerless.

One thing to note here is something I’ve thought about because of 
my experience. I notice that some of my relationships are stronger 
with certain students and not with others. I’ve wondered whether 



346    ATL A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

I am playing favorites. As I shared this with others for advice, I 
was told that it is human nature that we may trust some more than 
others. The thing is not to have some feel disenfranchised by that. 
What this means is that all should feel that they have equal access 
and are not powerless. 

I had a conversation once with a seminary president who was 
retiring. I was told by a friend that I should look at the president’s 
dissertation. The president had written on Paul’s confidence expres-
sions in 2 Corinthians. It seems that Paul “asserts his confidence in 
the Corinthians” as a way to encourage them to further good works. 
I asked our president how his dissertation affected his leadership 
style. He had not thought about it but wondered whether confidence 
and grounded hope was a way in which he influenced the admin-
istration and faculty. Perhaps that is another way in which we can 
influence the influencers.

If you are looking at the broader institution where you do not 
have formal power, how do you become an influencer? You will 
probably laugh at me, but when I was in high school I read Dale 
Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936). To 
me some of the things he mentions, if they are done with honesty 
and transparency, are not all that bad. Trust and transparency are 
important in gaining influence. We must be who we really are and 
not try to dupe others. Knowing those in different levels of the formal 
organization is also important. Those in custodial positions can be 
just as important as those in managerial positions.

I think sometimes who we are can get in the way of becoming 
influencers. My Myers-Briggs may say that I am an INTJ. But as I 
mentioned earlier, I am a functional extrovert. What this means is 
that I have learned how to be outgoing when needed. I have learned 
to enter into conversations that my introverted self would resist if 
I didn’t push myself. It’s Sheryl Sandberg’s “sit at the table” refer-
ence in Lean In (Sandberg and Scovell 2013, 27). I find it easier to 
sit on the side than to take a seat at the table where the discussion 
is happening.

Things do not always work the way we want no matter how 
hard we try to influence the outcome. They hired an interim after I 
retired. It was someone I recommended. This was a positive way that 
I influenced. However, the position description for the new library 



Listen and Learn Sessions    347

director was created after I left. The position was downgraded to a 
staff position rather than remain a faculty position. Sometimes things 
go our way and sometimes they don’t. Succession planning may be 
a good way to make sure that our responsibilities are carried on by 
someone else, but it may not always mean that things will remain 
the same after we leave.

REFERENCES

Boogard, Kat. 2021. “A Manager’s Ultimate Guide to Effective Succession 
Planning.” Work Life (blog), October 29. https://www.atlassian.
com/blog/leadership/guide-to-effective-succession-planning.

Carnegie, Dale. 1936. How to Win Friends and Influence People. New 
York: Simon & Schuster.

Drucker, Peter F. 2017. Managing Oneself. Boston: Harvard Business 
Review Press. 

Ebertz, Susan J. 2013. “Understanding Context for Change: A Look 
at Power and Organizations.” Summary of Proceedings: Sixty-
Seventh Annual Conference of the American Theological Library 
Association: 394–400. Chicago: American Theological Library 
Association.

Hanegan, Michael and Chris Rosser. 2023. “Artificial Intelligence 
and the Future of Theological Education.” https://bit.ly/
theological-education-and-ai.

Hufman, Matthew. 2024. “Leadership, Innovation, and What’s Ahead 
in Theological Education.” Interview with Amy Kardash and 
Frank Yamada. In Trust Center for Theological Schools. Good 
Governance podcast episode 58 (February 26). https://www.
intrust.org/how-we-help/resource-center/podcast/ep-58-leadership-
innovation-and-whats-ahead-in-theological-education.

Mahler, Walter R., and William F. Wrightnour. 1973 Executive 
Continuity: How to Build and Retain an Effective Management 
Team. Homewood, Illinois: Dow Jones-Irwin.

https://www.atlassian.com/blog/leadership/guide-to-effective-succession-planning
https://www.atlassian.com/blog/leadership/guide-to-effective-succession-planning
https://bit.ly/theological-education-and-ai
https://bit.ly/theological-education-and-ai
https://www.intrust.org/how-we-help/resource-center/podcast/ep-58-leadership-innovation-and-whats-ahead-in-theological-education
https://www.intrust.org/how-we-help/resource-center/podcast/ep-58-leadership-innovation-and-whats-ahead-in-theological-education
https://www.intrust.org/how-we-help/resource-center/podcast/ep-58-leadership-innovation-and-whats-ahead-in-theological-education


348    ATL A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

Ohno, Michael. 2024. Live-streamed Sunday Service, June 16. Anaheim 
Revive Church (June 16). Posted June 16, 2024. https://www.you-
tube.com/live/L2v2xFKgyoA.

Sandberg, Sheryl, and Nell Scovell. 2013. Lean In: Women, Work, and 
the Will to Lead. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

https://www.youtube.com/live/L2v2xFKgyoA
https://www.youtube.com/live/L2v2xFKgyoA

