How Leaders Pave the Way to Succession Planning?

Long-term planning is one of the key responsibilities in a leader’s job description. As a chief, you might have spent countless hours on financial and operational planning to keep your firm’s position strengthened in the future. The question is, how have you planned to pass on the baton? 

Here are a few pointers you can consider.

A Closer Look at Succession Planning

When one of your top employees suddenly departs, there is an unexpected rush to fill that position. However, selecting the right candidate for managerial or C-suite positions can take a considerable amount of time. The transition of selected individuals to potential successors can take years. As a CEO, and board member responsible for maintaining a successful continuity in the business, you should work together with the management team to develop the most diligent and capable team of successors. 

In case you are wondering, when should you start? Here’s a story that precisely answers your question.

I was at a conference with my peers, when the speaker asked us, “How early should you start planning?,” several CEOs, leaders, and C-suite managers shared their own timelines and approaches, but one voice made a profound statement – “immediately.” 

Truth be told, I couldn’t agree more.  

Right from the moment I got onto a CEO’s hot seat, succession planning was in the works. There were two things I knew: one, that a firm can come across uncertainty, crises, or even opportunities that may require new talent to step up. Two, since a CEO needs to “build” tomorrow’s leaders, training them through the right approach would shape them to become successors. Seeing the time running out of hands, it’s crucial that you identify and pick the best succession approach for your future leaders.

Identify the Correct Approach

I’ve come across different types of succession planning approaches where leaders select a successor as he/she reports to them. Also, in many firms, the CEOs go for emergency succession planning, where the CEOs themselves and the board of directors take complete charge and put in their votes to build the next team. The current leaders rely on the exclusive judgment of their firm’s trusted shareholders and stakeholders. While this approach to succession planning provides an immediate solution, it also leaves a couple of questions unanswered:

How trained are the individuals to become a successor?

Are they capable of creating an influence and taking charge?

The strategic leadership approach answers these questions perfectly. The approach focuses on spotting future successors in two ways – one, through recruiting, and two, by selecting high-performing individuals within the firm. Firms following this approach don’t wait for a current leader to leave, rather, they ensure that the right personnel is made ready to take charge when the time comes. I am quite confident about the approach because I use the same. My team and I identify a few individuals through two different approaches. In the first place, we find the best employees in the company, and secondly, we focus on hiring candidates with a leader’s mindset. This isn’t it! The hired individuals are put under intense talent development training programs and assessments focused on making them leaders in the future. The programs develop leadership skills in them and shape their personality as potential succession candidates for the firm. Some examples of the programs could be internal courses, action learning programs, 360-degree assignments, and executive coaching. These programs determine how logically these individuals react under pressure or during a crisis. The individuals who undergo these training programs, come out as potential nominees.

What Comes Along With Succession Planning?

A firm can reap many benefits from succession planning. It can optimize its promotion and internal transfer system by offering growth opportunities. Additionally, it can reduce the need for rehiring candidates at the last minute. However, talent development tops the list of benefits. In the process of scanning the right people and building them into rightful successors, companies succeed in developing their talent and upskilling their workforce. Most firms invest money, time, and effort to develop employees through a plethora of training over the years. As a result of this frequent training, their personality and capabilities are developed to the fullest extent possible. The training helps a firm fill the knowledge gap of employees, enhance their expertise, and optimize their deliverables through the newly gained training. The more training employees receive, the more aligned they become to the job and ultimately to the company’s goals. As a result of succession planning, the transition from employee to leader is accelerated. 

What’s Next?

It takes patience to plan a succession!  In order to shape an employee into a potential leader, the CEO and management must be supportive. They should understand that every individual carries their own pace of acquiring the skills and applying them to the workplace. Start by investing in the right mentorship resources. Assist them with their doubts and queries. Leaders who are patient during the succession process and develop their employees’ career paths are likely to achieve success.