Every week, I review blogs that cover talent development to find the very best talent development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to pieces on tracking talent and finding leaders, people who don’t want to be managers, the art and science of picking a leader, and IBM’s succession planning example.
From CNN: Tracking the talent, finding the leaders
“Organizations need talented people more than talented people need organizations. So — in these times when top talent is hard to find and staff are less loyal to employers — successful businesses are focused on building great leaders.”
Wally’s Comment: This interview with Robert P. Gandossy, described as “the founder of the annual Top Companies For Leaders’ study” covers a lot of ground. One part inspired my post: “Develop or Buy.”
From Tim Gould: Promotion? Not for me, thanks
“Memo to supervisors worried that underlings might be scheming to replace them: A new survey says almost nobody who works for you wants your job.”
Wally’s Comment: Here’s another survey that indicates that many of today’s workers don’t want to move into management. Is this good news because they realize that they’re not suited for the job or bad news because they think the job is un-doable? Beats me.
From the Financial Times: The art and science of picking a leader
“If executives who are supposed to be the cream of the cream are souring within months of their appointment, it is a fair bet that below the top level, the incidence of fluffed hires, poor promotions and recruitment U-turns is even greater. Directors should surely be asking themselves: why are we bad at picking good leaders?”
Wally’s Comment: Andrew Hill looks at recent succession failures at the top of some large companies and wonders if it indicates that we don’t choose managers well at any level. Note: the Financial Times has a tiered subscription model and requires registration to view the entire article.
“Virginia “Ginni†Rometty’s ascension to the CEO job at IBM is a remarkable feat. For the first time in history, the world’s two largest technology companies will be headed by women. After ousting Leo Apotheker in September, HP named Meg Whitman to be CEO. And now just a month later, “Big Blue†elevated Rometty, a senior vice president at the company, to succeed Samuel J. Palmisano when he retires at the start of next year. But her promotion is impressive for another reason. Unlike so many CEO transitions these days, this one was pulled off noticeably smooth. Palmisano is departing the massive technology firm while it is performing at the top of its game, leaving Rometty with a strong foundation to build on rather than a mess to clean up.”
Wally’s Comment: If we call the Financial Times article a view of “failure stories,” then I guess we can all this piece a success story. IBM brought in Lou Gerstner from outside because they thought a turnaround was needed. After Gerstner’s nine-year turnaround work was done, Sam Palmisano, a thirty-year IBM vet, became CEO. He’s been in that job for almost a decade and has announced that he will retire at the traditional IBM retirement age of sixty. The company has named Ginni Rometty, another thirty-year vet, as his successor. That sounds to me like an example of succession planning that’s worth pondering.
