• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, Yesterday

The trade pubs don’t cover it.  It’s not spoken about in polite conversation.   It does get some mention at cocktail parties, but mostly by the younger constituency.  It’s a topic that makes some people wildly uncomfortable, but we have to talk about it if we ever want to get to the future.

In executive offices across the industry, you can hear the mutterings: “I have five years left before I retire.  I will let this be somebody else’s problem.”  In previous cycles, the “this” in question was the internet.  Then it was mobile.  Now it’s AI.

 The simple fact is that, very often, executives who’ve put in their time and done the work delay transformational challenges -- like the integration of AI across all aspects of the business -- rather than embracing them. 

This is not a criticism, but an acknowledgment.  These folks did their work; now it’s time to designate the next wave of leadership and let them get to work. 

Much of what needs to be done with AI will radically change the way we do business.  Agencies and publishers that are leaning into AI are quickly realizing that doing so jeopardizes many jobs, not necessarily eliminating headcount, but definitely eliminating roles and turning them into something else. 

Those new roles are ones whose responsibilities are not yet fully clear.  This will require a lot of “building the plane while flying it” -- messy work, especially for executives who’ve already gone through this kind of transformation once.  It’s a difficult concept to face: looking at your life’s work and realizing you will be forced to upend it all.   In many cases, this is the deconstruction of your personal legacy, which is a very demotivating concept.

That sets up an opportunity.  How do the leaders of today identify the leaders of tomorrow, and peacefully, yet quickly, put them into positions of authority where they can begin that work?  The older leaders can provide mentorship and guidance.  They can ensure that the transition is seamless and as beneficial to organizations as possible. 

The worst thing a leader can do is hang on too long, promising a transition but never making it happen.  We’ve seen that in politics, and I’ve seen it in the workforce, and it never works out well.

Great leaders establish transition plans.  Warren Buffett knew it, so why not you? 

A transition plan should identify the questions that need to be asked and tap the right people to answer them.  You are setting the scene rather than providing answers you think should be given.  You let the new leadership come up with their ideas, and you help guide them through the hiccups that need to be addressed to ensure success.  That, along with your accomplishments to date, will help establish your legacy. 

You want to be remembered for helping rather than hindering the arrival of the future.  That is a legacy worth having.