🤔 Why do most leadership transitions fail?

Because we're doing succession all wrong.

When Chris Anderson announced today he's stepping aside after 25 years at the helm of TED he didn't name a successor. He did something more radical: he opened the search to everyone.

Most organizations treat succession like a relay race: carefully passing a baton from one runner to the next.

But what if we're using the wrong metaphor?!

I've come to believe that great organizations aren't batons to be passed—they're flames to be tended. And their leaders aren't just operators—they're SOURCES* of vision and purpose. 🔥

The question isn't "Who can run this organization?" but "Who can channel its source and fan its flame?"

Time and again I've watched typical succession playbooks fail:

✔️ Boards rush to appoint "safe" operators

✔️ Founders struggle to let go

✔️ Organizations lose their connection to source (and their soul)

Today, as everything accelerates, we need leaders who:

✔️ Trust emergence over control

✔️ Choose wisdom over certainty

✔️ Embrace possibility over predictability

What I love about Chris' move is that he's not stepping down—he's stepping up to model a new way of thinking about succession, power, and purpose. And instead of following the well-worn path, he's inviting the wisdom of the community to illuminate what comes next.

In a world desperate for new models of leadership, this is one to watch.

What if more organizations approached succession this way? What possibilities might emerge?

I can't wait to see.