The Integrity Way with Dave: It's About Preparing the People Who Come Next

By Dave Bondy, Plant Manager

People sometimes ask me what I think about succession planning.

My answer usually surprises them.

I don't believe succession planning is something you start thinking about when someone announces they're retiring.

I think it's part of leadership every single day.

As I've gotten further into my career, I've become more aware that one of my biggest responsibilities isn't just making decisions for today. It's making sure the people around me are ready to make good decisions tomorrow.

That's how businesses last.

Too many organizations unintentionally build around individuals. One person becomes the expert or has all the relationships. Only one person knows how everything works.

Eventually that person leaves.

Suddenly everyone realizes how much knowledge walked out the door with them.

I've never wanted that for our company.

I'd much rather see experienced employees teaching someone else what they've learned. I'd rather see leaders giving people opportunities before they're perfectly comfortable. I'd rather spend extra time coaching today than scrambling to replace knowledge tomorrow.

That's an investment that pays dividends for years.

When I talk about our team being an extended family, that's part of what I mean.

We want people to succeed. We want them to grow. We want them to discover they're capable of more than they thought possible.

That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because leaders intentionally create opportunities and provide coaching, trusting people with meaningful responsibility.

Operational excellence is often associated with lean processes and efficiency, or continuous improvement. Those things absolutely matter.

At the end of the day though, operational excellence also means building an organization that can continue improving long after today's leaders are gone. It means empowering people and developing future leaders, creating an environment where knowledge is shared instead of protected.

I hope that years from now, nobody remembers me because of a decision I made or a project I led.

I hope they remember that we built a culture where people invested in one another.

The best leaders don't create followers.They create more leaders.

If the next generation takes our company farther than my generation ever could, I'll consider that one of the greatest successes of my career.