If you are a new officer rotating on to your organization's leadership team, it is vital that you take the time RIGHT NOW to gather some of the inside information that will help you do your new job effectively. The person who has this information is the person who came before you in the position.
Even if you don't like this person, you owe it to yourself to sit down with him or her and gather some information. It will save you immeasurable time later and will help you make your first weeks in the new position more successful.
Here are a few questions I would ask my predecessor before launching into my term in office:
1. If you could do any part of this past year differently, what would it be?
2. What person outside of the executive council was your best resource? An advisor? A person on campus? Someone in a different organization? Why? Who are the people who can help me do the best job?
3. How did you organize your time to handle the demands of this position?
4. What were some of the mistakes you made early on that I could avoid?
5. What is the single most time consuming or annoying duty that comes with this position? Do you have any suggestions for making it more manageable?
6. What are the "sacred cows?" What things did you try to change or influence that people fought you on?
7. If you had another year in this position, what would you change or improve? How can I build on what you've accomplished?
8. What was the biggest surprise that you encountered in the last year doing this position?
9. What duties exist outside the "job description" that I should be prepared for?
If you are an officer who is transitioning out, answering these questions can really help the person following you. Often, new officers are so excited to jump in that they never take time to learn what came before them. This is a typical mistake. Even if you just take these questions and answer them in an email that you send to the new officer, that might be helpful.
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