Integer Leadership Consulting

In the October edition of HBR there is an excellent article entitled, Closing the Talent Gap. The article speaks to the challenge and opportunity of Leadership Succession within Organizations. If you have anything to do with developing an Internal Leadership Succession “Process, University, or Institute” this article is a must read!

Leadership Succession is fast (and the word “fast” is too slow a word to use in this context) becoming a hallmark of thriving, strategically postured organizations. I have identified the following themes at work within organizations that are serious about Leadership Succession planning.

Theme A: LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION ATTRACTS AND RETAINS PROFESSIONAL TALENT

Why would any talented, gifted, competent, self-selecting and entrepreneurial person be attracted to an organization that does not have in place the possibility of maturing and growing into a capable, effective and compassionate leader? The answer is obvious, “no potential leader worth their salt would bother.” These organizations would most certainly attract the chronic underachiever satisfied with mediocre performance, which, as any student of systems thinking knows, would “infect” the organization with a systemic cycle of mediocrity. Conversely, organizations that have a strategic, holistic, cross-departmental and broad participatory philosophy by those leaders already in place, would see their talent pool naturally grow from the outside-in and from the inside-out.

Theme B: LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION INCREASES PERFORMANCE LEVELS OF POTENTIAL HIGH PERFORMERS

A rising tide lifts all ships. So it is with organizations which build a culture of Leadership Succession. What I mean by this is that organizations that celebrate and implement LS
processes give all staff something for which to aspire. Obviously, every employee is not going to be a self-selecting high potential leader BUT the fact the opportunity is there, is clearly accessible and available gives potential leaders the open door to pursue it. And because self-selecting leaders, even those potential leaders that are discovering they really DO want to develop and grow into superb, value-added leaders, naturally gravitate to development opportunities, open doors into the leadership-development gauntlet are HUGE.

Theme C: LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION SHOULD BE BROADLY BASED (STAFFED) WITH DEPARTMENTAL LEADERS WHO THEMSELVES VALUE AND ESTEEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A ROLE IN DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS

The HBR article was very clear on this and is worth emphasizing here. Leadership Succession is no longer the role of HR alone. It cannot be deposited squarely in the hands of HR and abandoned while other key organizational leaders, including upper level management and VPs, go about their more urgent business of managing the “hard side” of the enterprise. The executive leadership is a critical player in any LS process. Their role is significant in terms of direct involvement through teaching, mentoring, availability and accessibility. Yet a successful and transformational LS process does not stop with the VPs. It also involves departmental management and other organizational professionals within the structure who can contribute their own particular insight from their own unqiue knowledge-base to the growth and development of the emerging leader…call this 360-degree leadership input.

This, then, naturally means that middle management and other departmental leaders need to be equipped and trained to be a part of the LS process. LS involves these seasoned and competent leaders which, by their intentional inclusion, builds increasing levels of synergy within the organization. While they themselves may not aspire to executive or other positions of upper level management, they are honored and excited to be part of shaping and crafting and investing-in the emerging leaders. This process of inclusion alone builds morale and increases “stakeholdership.”