Succession Planning: The ticket to your future
Where does succession planning fall on your priority list?
If you’re like other executives, your answer is probably, “Pretty low.” That’s because many leaders consider succession planning as something to be completed, much like an audit. However, succession planning is much more than that. It’s your valuable ticket to the next big job, and it can be a powerful mechanism for internal talent development.
I remember an annual officers’ meeting where the CEO asked us to raise our hands if we had our succession plans in place. As you would expect, most hands shot up like 5th graders wanting to answer the teacher’s question as quickly as possible. Upon seeing the response, our CEO said, “You can put your hands down now. Most of you are wrong.” He continued, “I reviewed many of your plans and few of them are actionable.” He was referring to the same name showing up in multiple places, replacements that were clearly not ready, several references to “outside hire,” and outdated plans in general. After commenting on his findings, he informed us not to worry. “When the next big job comes along,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’ll find someone other than you to do it. I would certainly not jeopardize our business by taking any of you out of your current roles without a solid replacement.” He made it clear to us that we would not be considered for the next big opportunity without a high quality, actionable succession plan.
Where does succession planning fall on your priority list?
Creating a Culture of Learning
Aim to create a stronger connection between learning and career advancement, and encourage your team to learn. Foster a culture where leaders are teaching their people at least one thing per month. Teach the budgeting process. Teach the customer interface process. Improve communication in general. Train your people to learn and expand their reach.
With associates learning faster and working themselves out of jobs, you might be concerned about creating a demotivator if you have limited opportunities for promotion. This could be an outcome, of course. For example, if your subordinate was ready to take your job and your boss wasn’t ready to move on, your subordinate would feel blocked.
To remedy this, look for leadership roles outside your department for either you or them. In this way, people will build broader skills, and you will be regarded as the developer of talent, sending your key people off to do great things on behalf of the company. If the culture catches on, you can guarantee great talent will be coming your way as well.
A Theoretical Outcome
Everyone needs to develop their people, have a solid succession plan, work themselves out of a job, and be ready for the next big opportunity. So, if everyone is successful with this approach, won’t the career block happen at the top?
Yes. If you do this correctly, there won’t be enough spots at the top unless the company is rapidly growing. If you have the luxury of this problem, you can help your key people find big jobs at your partner companies, supply base, or even with customers. You will create allies in your business network. Moving out of the company on great terms is an asset for both companies. I know all this sounds great when you say it fast, but the fundamental premise is solid, and it works. Teach your people to learn and work themselves out of their jobs. A flexible workforce is a competitive advantage.
Not having enough spots for your great leaders is a theoretical outcome that few companies will experience. The practical outcome, however, is a sound process of succession with opportunities for everyone to grow. Be open about the plans. Hold your teams accountable for teaching and raising the bar for their people. Make them aware that their future lies with their ability to learn. An organization that takes talent development seriously is an attractive environment for great people.
Key Takeaways
A few things to keep in mind on succession planning:
1. An actionable succession plan is a ticket to the next big job.
2. Succession depends on all levels creating additional capacity.
3. Create a culture of learning. Talent development creates capacity and attracts and retains great people.
When the next big job comes along, don’t miss the opportunity. Have a solid successor in place and be ready to go.
Tom Tischhauser
About Tom
Tom Tischhauser is the founder and principal of Wynstone Partners, an executive coaching firm working with high impact leaders and company boards. The charter of the firm is to improve business performance through the development of key leaders. Tom’s P&L, general management, and functional experience, provide the strong background leveraged in leadership development. Global business, expatriate, and M&A experience complement his leadership and business skills. Tom and his team work closely with executives using everyday issues as vehicles to improve performance.
Tom has been a featured speaker for many business, university, and community events and has coached individual leaders and teams from the US, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. He is a former board member for Kimball Electronics (KE) and Kimball International (KBAL), and currently sits on the board of FinTurk, Inc. Tom holds an engineering degree from Cornell University.