Succession Planning

Succession Planning

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Succession Planning

Succession planning infuses our daily lives in one way or another. Personally it might be an heir who continues a family legacy. Professionally it helps large and small organizations maintain consistency with customers and investors. But it is often overlooked. Do you have a plan in place to ensure your business goes on without a hitch if and/or when you leave?

Succession planning is a deliberate and ongoing process that systematically identifies-then prepares and develops-individuals to take over vital company roles. In this age of immediate gratification, be warned, this does not happen quickly.

The process can be broken down to finding the right person for the right job and aligning current employees to current and future needs. Bottom line:



There are many methods to implement succession planning. It can be confusing to know where to begin. This article provides a starting point. First consider these questions:
What leadership attributes are most important for assessing succession candidates? These attributes may be unique to your organization's culture or more generic in nature.
What is most successful in helping leaders develop? What has worked in the past? What has not worked?
How does your organization incorporate its strategy into the succession-planning process?
What are some barriers to succession planning you may encounter? Be honest and face the challenges with open-minded solutions.
What is the organization's most important asset? Hopefully, you've said "People."
With the answers to the above questions the following steps will be helpful:
Set the stage for succession planning... Identify and widely communicate the leadership attributes that fit your organization's culture and vision.
Identify the executives for succession planning (C-level, VP's, Director-level etc.).
Ask each executive to list up to 3 potential successors they think can take over their jobs and list what is missing to do their job immediately. This will identify/reinforce those areas where people need more training.
Consider the strengths of potential successors for each target position. Discuss with current superiors/supervisors if possible. Questions to consider:
What is the employee's current level of capability? What is her future potential?
How well is her current capability matched to her role? i.e. Is she under employed, well-matched, or over her head?
How well is she matched with her manager's current level of capability? i.e. Is she currently receiving appropriate leadership from her manager?
When will the employee be ready for a higher level of work if given opportunities for gaining experience and training?
Create a development plan for those identified as needing training (coaching, classes, shadowing, etc.).
Give the potential successor responsibilities the target would normally handle (meeting the press, making decisions, evaluating reports, attending board meetings, working with grantees). Create a depth of talent throughout staff. Working in a different department or making a lateral move to explore new ideas can be more attractive than an upward promotion. Cross-training is a valuable tool to reduce knowledge gaps in team structure.
These steps take time and deliberate planning and will yield valuable information.


In the short term you will learn:

Who is underutilized, representing untapped leadership potential and a turnover risk;
Who is over committed and in need of reassignment;
Who will be ready for promotion now and in the near future;
Who will be comfortable in their current position for years to come.

In the long run you will discover:

How each person's leadership potential increases over time;
If forecasted leadership potential match predicted talent needs;
Who your high potentials are that need more knowledge;
If you need to modify your recruiting process to attract more experts or more high potentials in order to meet your succession needs?

Companies must empower employees to take an active role in their own career development as well as provide tools to support that development (executive coaching, in-house training, seminars, cross-training, etc.). When fully integrated into the organization culture, succession planning is a powerful tool to ease any transition.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, succession planning is woven into many aspects of our lives. We are exposed to succession planning even on reality television. This month viewers watched the sons of the late Captain Phil Harris struggle with the family legacy of crab fishing on Discovery's Deadliest Catch. Their situation is a case study of succession planning under pressure. Succession planning is full of emotion, politics, drama and, most importantly, choices. Knowing your choices and planning for transitions before an emergency happens is the best way to keep your business running smoothly.

Hand & Associates coaches can be instrumental in developing a succession plan for your organization. Get ahead of the competition and start your plan now. Call us for more information.
Hand & Associates: Your Total Solutions Partner!
Http://handandassociates.com

About the Author:
http://handandassociates.com



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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