Tomorrow is the first day of this year’s Hurricane Season. Are you ready?
The best mindset here is “preparation.” You don’t plan for a hurricane. Instead you prepare for a hurricane so that when one comes your way, you know what to do and you have the resources to weather the storm.
“Preparation” is a good mindset for thinking about succession, too. According to Dictionary.com, to prepare is “to put in proper condition or readiness.”
On the other hand, to plan is “to arrange a method or scheme beforehand.” That requires more prediction and more choices in advance. In our complex, high velocity world, planning succession isn’t likely to be as effective as preparing for succession.
A little planning goes a long way. Plan for who should make the succession decisions and what the key criteria should be. In a rapidly changing world, it’s a good idea to review the criteria before deciding whom to promote. Stay flexible.
Make succession preparation a priority. It should take top management time and attention, and claim the time and attention of every other manager, too.
Put succession preparation systems in place. You can’t prepare well without systems that foster regular, rigorous reviews and conscious development choices. Your systems should offer you several qualified candidates when a position opens up.
Consider the whole organization in succession preparation. Don’t make the mistake of planning only for succession to the CEO role. Every manager and potential manager in your organization should be part of the process.
Cover the employment lifecycle in succession preparation. Every new hire is a choice that will shape your future. The range of opportunities you offer affects retention.
There’s a bonus to thinking this way. The intensive reviews and feedback should improve the quality of leadership throughout the organization.
Wally – I love the analogy!
The term ‘planning’ does not connote action.
When organizations are just getting started with succession planning I see them get overwhelmed at times. This can lead to overly focusing on specific aspects of the process (i.e., assessment, what to label the 9 box categories) which ultimately delays the actually execution of the process. While I advocate doing the hard work to put processes in place the are aligned with an organization’s strategy, I also encourage organizations that are just starting to go ahead and get their feet wet.
It is better to begin your preparation, starting simple and evolving over time, than to take no action at all.