How can I groom a successor without losing my own seniority?

Question

Following the advice of another user in another question, I am asking this.

As I said, I have been asked to start grooming a successor in the team where I have worked for 3 years (and managed for 1 year), so I can focus more on helping other teams. I have been given various reasons, but... you never know!

In the long run, I would like to keep climbing the managerial ladder (I enjoy people coordination in general, working across multiple functions, etc. etc.), so I am a bit afraid of losing my seniority from my previous team.

What can I do, while grooming a successor and being asked to do this lateral move, to ensure that I am still valuable to that team (and the whole organization for that matter)?

Note: I am a business analyst, and I do use some advanced IT/software.

Answer 1

It is the responsibility of every manager to have a replacement prepared. It could be for your sick days, your vacation, or your promotion.

If you honestly believe that "hoarding knowledge" is the key to holding your position, I have some bad news for you: You are, in fact, the person who needs to be fired most of all.

"Seniority" is a very tenuous, and nebulous concept. A lot of people like to think of it as akin to "tenure" in academia. It is not. All it means is that you are trusted to be the point-of-contact for your team and to divide the tasks among your team. Your only value is in being a conduit for information, filtering out the "noise" and seeking the missing pieces for your team to do their assignments. The minute you become the impediment, rather than the conduit, your status is lost.

Groom your successor. It's what you were told to do.

This "Lateral move," as you put it, could very well be your manager grooming you for promotion by increasing your exposure to (and hopefully knowledge of) different business units in your company. Learn everything you are exposed to: technology, business needs, operations bottlenecks, and most importantly: inter-unit politics.