There are many different roles in an organization, some are more critical than others. Definitely, some have more technical requirements than others as well.
We often say, no one is irreplaceable. The honest truth is not far from there. While no one is irreplaceable, the Organization will suffer for a period when the critical role is wrongly or insufficiently filled.
What’s going to happen when there’s only one person qualifies for a specific critical role?
Don’t get me wrong, the department or Organization will continue its daily activities. There should be sufficient SOP in place to enable business continuity. However, there might be surprises from planned activities and changes to the critical decision due to misunderstanding.
Slowly but surely, as the team went through the steep learning curve together, a new norm will be formed. The team will form a new band of friends through the challenges went through together.
Is it so straightforward? This is where the managers making a mistake.
Frustration
During the 6–12 months of discovery and learning on the job, the entire team will be tired and frustrated.
Seeing their work rushed out during overtime being thrown out of the window is not a good feeling. Especially when it was discussed, and aligned internally before moving forward. It has to be reworked because critical information wasn’t shared due to inexperienced and honest mistakes. Consequential of replacing critical position(s) with wrong or inexperienced person.
The transition period from unstable to the closely-knit team will take 6–9 months — this is what the manager tends to think.
The truth is if the team is not fully on board with the changes, or the transition is deemed too painful for some, the transition period will extend.
I have seen people leave because of the transition pain. The ever-happening changes, the wrong and confusing decisions, and the mistrust among the team due to the above will drive people away.
Once you have a quitter, even if he or she is not the star player, the whole team will be shaken. Besides the transition pain, they have to start suffering short-handed pain.
Those who are feeling the pain will starts to rethink their options and alternatives. They want to be the next to leave instead of staying and suffer double blow.
Support the team — Loudly
As a manager, you can step up and give assurance to the team. Strengthen their beliefs in you. Make bold changes to enable the team and support them.
All these, cannot happen subtly. It has to happen loud. You have to spell out your next course of actions. The team needs to hear you.
They may or may not notice the effort you put in later. What you definitely need them to notice is you acknowledge their feeling and struggle. This will help the team to settle down a little.
Last but not least, show the team that you have a plan to ensure a similar situation will not happen again. You have a talent pipeline in which the existing team is being placed with a certain progression.
Above all, make sure you always always always have a backup plan for the critical role!