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Why Succession Planning

Written by: Roger Ingbretsen

Article Overview: Succession planning is not just a nice thing to do, but rather it is a necessary process that should be in place to protect the overall health of the organization – big or small. Who is going to step into your shoes when you get promoted, have a major medical problem or leave the organization? What is your retention strategy for the individuals who are important to the success of your organization?

Why Succession Planning

Why Succession Planning?

The proactive and well orchestrated succession planning process, ensures that vacancies – planned or unplanned – are filled by someone who is ready for the position. In team sports, second and third string players are in place to provide backup for the first string players. This practice of having “almost” ready top talent in backup positions serves as an excellent process to groom and develop the next generation of first string players. This same “talent mind-set” should be effectively applied to profit and non-profit organizations.

Succession planning and the development of leadership talent are important to the organization if it is not only going to survive, but also grow. In fact, leadership development, succession planning and performance management combined, should be viewed as the three important parts of the overall organizational talent-building process.

To be most effective, succession planning should begin with thorough analysis and a deliberate seeking of answers to the following questions.

• Where is the organization presently experiencing the greatest pain?
• Who can I not afford to lose because they are critical to the operation?
• Where and where not, is strong leadership presently being displayed?
• Who does not have a strong backup?
• Who is the most probable individual to leave next due to retirement, health or other reasons?
• At what organizational level – top, mid, lower – does the greatest need for leadership development appear to be needed the most?
• What critical positions are open?
• How quickly can a vacant key position be filled?
• What critical positions do top performers “not” hold?
• Where are the skill-set requirements changing the quickest?
• Which positions will most affect future growth?
• Can you fill at least 50% of your leadership growth from within the organization?

A practical approach to viewing a succession planning process is to see it as a necessary and required continual search for, and the grooming of the best talent. To produce the best results, a succession planning process should include a well orchestrated assessment process, “leadership” training, and stretch performance objectives, coupled with individual one-on-one coaching.

This approach identifies individual strengths and weaknesses, teaches the selected candidate leadership principles, inserts the individual into a “try-before-by” leadership project, and provides the candidate the coaching required for the transition to a leadership role.

Individuals selected should possess at least most of the characteristics of high potentials. Words such as adaptable, candid, innovative, capable, communicator, passionate, risk-taker, and visionary should be associated with the potential candidate. The individual should be able to demonstrate the ability to manage the paradoxes of leadership such as; long term verses short term, external verses internal, perspective from 50,00ft verses 20ft, and vision verses execution.

As an organization looks at providing leadership opportunities for those who show potential, the following ten points should receive high consideration in the selection process.

• Does the individual show the potential to make a positive business impact on the future of the organization?
• Does the individual demonstrate or are they working on developing the kind of presence that inspires confidence?
• Does the individual demonstrate leadership potential, desire, passion and competence that could be used in more than one area of the organization?
• Does the individual understand the organizations vision, strategy and direction?
• Does the individual translate that vision so that others understand it and understand their role in it?
• Does the individual inspire others to defer to him/her on matters where he/she has expertise?
• Does the individual show and demonstrate respect at all levels of the organization including supervisors, peers and subordinates?
• Does the individual possess the kind of communication skills that can effectively present ideas, concepts and policies that support and accomplish organizational strategy and objectives?
• Does the individual demonstrate the ability to take the smart risks required in completing an important project?
• Does the individual have a track record of living and fostering the desired culture of the organization?


From a strategic standpoint, focusing on leadership development, succession planning and performance management as a combined process represents a hidden, under-leveraged opportunity. CEO’s, boards of directors, and investors, should all be interested in ensuring that any organization for which they are responsible, have a solid succession plan in place. It simply makes sound business sense. The organization with the best talent usually wins.

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You MAY reprint the information contained in this article as long as no portion of the contents are modified and it used “exclusively” within your organization. You must also give credit to information by including the tag line...

Roger M. Ingbretsen, Author, Speaker, Leadership Coach, Organizational and career developer For more information, visit www.ingbretsen.com or call 509 999 7008.

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Article Tags: continual search, critical positions, effective succession planning, first string, health, leadership development, leadership growth, leadership talent, next generation, performance management, proactive, process ensures that, profit organizations, retirement, skill set, string players, succession planning process, team sports, top performers, vacancies



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