Succession planning is part of human resources ( HR )
management and should not be conducted during a crisis. Hence do not wait until
a leader is planning to leave.
1.
Credible forecast
analysis
According to Forbes, in leadership succession, GE has done
a good job of looking “through the windshield” rather than “in the rear-view
mirror” to understand the leadership skills required of the next CEO.
2.
Developing internal
and external resources
Investing about two to four years to develop an
executive can be very beneficial to an organization. This could involve
rotating the individual in various functional areas, taking on international
assignments or spearheading a division.
Both the former CEO of Starbucks, Jim Donald and the CEO of
Cisco Systems, John Thomas Chambers landed their CEO position in this manner.
3.
CEO and directors
should be on board
The CEO and
board of directors have to be fully involved and committed in this process.
This is not an initiative of the HR department.
There
should be regular reviews between the CEO and the next successor and taking
accountability for responsibility.
4.
Use business
strategy as a benchmark
There
should be a good reason for your succession planning and this can be
accomplished by aligning the plan with your business strategy.
By
“connecting the dots”, an organisation can give coherent explanation that ties
to the need for succession planning based on the business case of the
organisation or the outcome of not doing it.
5.
Focus on all levels
Your
approach to talent development should cross all levels of the organisation. It
should not be confined to just certain positions or levels. You may never know
where you will find the next CEO and sometimes, the result could be pleasantly
suprising.
6.
Be realistic
Development
plans and ideas are not promises but most of the time, they are communicated in
such a way that frustrates potential candidates.
7.
Diversify
If your
organisation wants diversity in leadership, then succession planning should
also look into promoting women employees and minorities.
8.
Keep political and
emotional aspects at bay
The process
of successions planning may invite many political, irrational and emotional
outbursts from the succession planning team and those around them. It can
sometimes come from the CEO who is having difficulty “letting go” or from team
members who have their own personal agenda.
It’s
crucial for these elements to be managed tactfully without being influenced by
emotional and political feelings.
Prema jayabalan from Leaderonomics
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