Is your organization experiencing a skills
crisis? I’m learning that many U.S. companies are not experiencing
difficulty when it comes to the number of applicants for key positions.
They are having a tough time finding key talent with the right skills and
competencies!
One often-overlooked solution to the skills crisis is succession planning,
also known as leadership continuity.
Members of the Baby Boomer generation are reaching retirement age in
significant numbers. There are fewer members in the next generation,
Generation X, that can take their place. Finding – and retaining –
quality leaders will be a serious challenge for organizations for the
remainder of this decade. A structured succession plan can help your
company achieve and sustain a competitive advantage.
Successful, meaningful succession plans are designed to support an
organization’s strategic objectives. After the leadership team
develops a Mission, Vision, and Key Result Areas that will ensure the
organization can survive and thrive, Human Resources should explore what
specific leadership competencies are necessary to carry out these
objectives. For example, the companies I’ve worked with have all
identified business acumen, interacting effectively with a diverse
workforce, and strategic planning as essential core competencies for
leaders.
I believe there are five drivers that support an effective succession plan:
- Top leadership involvement.
The CEO and executive team must devote time, attention, and leadership to
model competencies that will help the organization succeed. They
need to coach individuals who exhibit the same competencies or the
potential to develop those competencies.
- Design creativity. The
succession plan must be tailored to your company and its unique culture
and environment. A Fortune 500 company you’ve read about may have an
excellent succession plan; however, that model may not work for your
organization.
- Defined success criteria.
Development of success measures that serve as a compass is an essential
step in the leadership continuity process.
- Establishment of leadership
competencies. Have a firm idea of the behaviors, skills, and talents
that drive organizational effectiveness and resiliency in your industry.
- Communication to stakeholders.
Employees, Board members, and customers can’t support a succession plan if
they’re not aware that it exists or don’t understand the objectives.
As with any initiative, there are some
potential pitfalls in any succession planning process. The mistake
I’ve seen most often is failure to differentiate between high potential and
high performing employees. A high performer can successfully carry out
his or her responsibilities in the current job but still not be a candidate
for higher level positions, for a variety of reasons. Not everyone has
the ability to be analytical on top of having sound bookkeeping skills.
Not everyone who has the ability to handle routine problems has the talent
to deal with ambiguity. High potential candidates are capable in their
current positions AND want to/can do other work within the organization.
Another pitfall is lower morale for solid employees who aren’t selected as
high potential candidates. If employees look around and notice
coworkers attending workshops, being mentored, and receiving interesting
assignments, they’ll wonder when there turn is coming along. These
high performing candidates need and deserve career development, too.
They’re just on a different track.
A succession plan doesn’t run on autopilot. Process checkpoints should
be set, at least quarterly. These checkpoints provide an opportunity
to assess accomplishments compared to objectives and success criteria.
If barriers to the process crop up, they should be immediately addressed or
the initiative will die.
In the planning stages, I recommend that six key issues be addressed to
guard against the pitfalls I’ve mentioned:
- What are the critical positions in
the organization for which we need leadership continuity?
- What are the key competencies
required for effectiveness in these positions?
- Who will create the position
profiles (competency-based job descriptions) for targeted positions?
- What are directed assignments that
will build the competencies of high potential candidates?
- Who will develop and administered
the performance feedback process for current and future leaders?
A key component of succession planning
is the development and completion of directed assignments by high potential
employees. These are short to medium term projects that meet
business imperatives and provide developmental opportunities.
Examples are:
- Leadership of a business unit that’s
outside the person’s current area
- Overseas assignments
- Facilitation of another division’s
strategic planning process
- Business growth and development
projects
Most organizations I’ve worked with do
not tell high potential candidates of their status, at least not directly.
Their managers make it clear that they’re valued members of the
organization, however, and communicate that they will have opportunities for
professional growth. The key is to balance peoples’ need to know where
they stand with the company’s need to steer clear of creating expectations
that may not be realized.
In order to sustain a succession plan, I recommend that it be incorporated
into senior managers’ goal setting during the performance management
process. Senior managers must be held accountable for their
significant role in leadership continuity – staff development.
If you are an HR professional, there’s groundwork to be laid to prepare for
your key role in leadership continuity. Is your recruitment and
selection process tailored to identify people with the core competencies
your company needs? Does the reward and recognition system compensate people
for taking on difficult or unpleasant assignments? Is there is an HRIS
system in place to track individual development plans?
Feel free to contact me at
Linda@gravett.com if you have questions or comments about this article.
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