Many
business leaders are too busy to think about
succession planning until some kind of crisis comes
along that gets their attention. Yet, 40%
of leaders in new roles fail
to meet expectations.
Succession planning is
not easy. Perhaps, that is why over 40% of companies
don't have a CEO succession plan in place.
Articulating corporate vision to feed succession goals
and contingencies is something that can get postponed
when we are working "in," rather than "on," our
business. But becoming aware of what's needed and
getting started early is a good thing to do,
especially in uncertain
times.
The "how" of
succession planning is critical and, generally,
requires some outside help to create an action plan to
move forward. Here are some typical steps in such a
plan:
1. Assess the current corporate
culture and determine how it needs to change in the
future. This will allow you to develop a set of
leadership criteria and development
approaches.
2. Assess high potential
managers' strengths, weaknesses, and succession
readiness.
3. Identify leadership planning
gaps and then develop action plans for improving the
capabilities of select managers and professionals.
Ensure that future leadership practices reflect
company values and long term goals.
4. Implement a high-impact
custom executive coaching program for the personal
development of future leaders. Continue to observe,
assess and challenge these key executives to better
understand potential advancement options.
Succession
planning should be more than a well written binder on
the shelf.
According to a September 2001
news release titled "Change Coming Faster than
Leaders Can Manage" from The Conference Board of
Canada (the premier independent applied research
institute in the country), "only two percent of
Canadian executives today rate their companies'
capacity to provide the leadership needed to implement
major change as excellent, down from five percent two
years ago".
Succession management can truly
transform your company when understood and practiced
by your executive team. Our coaching methods teach
your executives how to mentor and coach their direct
reports and peers. Merely increasing the number of
respectful conversations in an organization will
increase learning dissemination, collaboration and
innovation. Using executive coaching interactions to
increase the number of conversations will, over time,
increase organizational change velocity faster than
any other method.
Is your succession management
potential important enough to learn what happens when
future leaders are effectively coached and mentored?
Do you want
to know more about:
1. How to conduct an
organizational analysis?
2. Options for deciding on the
criteria for selecting potential leaders?
3. What leadership capabilities
might be of importance?
4. How might your company
develop a succession management program?
If so, please email
or call us at 734.426.2000 (US Eastern Time
Zone) for a free telephone consultation today. Find a
leadership
coach to work with you.
Click
here for typical
coaching plans and costs.
