Businesses need to embrace the strategic significance of leadership succession planning as a smart way to maximize employee and client retention. Studies show that many managers do not possess the skills required to lead their organizations. Below are highlights of several best practices to help level-up the skills and succession of current and high-potential leaders in any organization.
1. Identify the skills that your organization wants each successor to embrace as they are being considered for leadership roles. If there isn’t a specific set of skills already established, utilizing universal leadership attributes can help identify current and future potential.
- Capability. Expertise and ability to do their job today and into the future.
- Relationship capital. The empathy required to forge and fortify relationships internally and externally, while cultivating strong and healthy teams.
- Trust building. Inspiring trust with team members, colleagues and clients.
- Behavior. Possessing a high degree of emotional intelligence and being human.
- Growth mindset. Having a desire to grow, a willingness to accept stretch assignments and a persistence to learn from adversity.
- Talent development. Strategic recruiting, continuous coaching of team members and colleagues to enhance retention.
- Leadership qualities. Communication skills, strategic thinking, leading through change, driving business performance and curating culture.
2. Internal and external evaluation tools can assess each manager based upon the skills identified.
- Actively engage in an ongoing process that aligns current and potential performance required to be successful in the skill sets identified.
3. Share evaluation feedback with each manager to gain their insights ideas, and goals for their current and future development. Obtain their perspective on their strengths and explore ways to leverage those strengths in support the organization and the team.
4. Work with your leadership team, along with outside learning and development professionals to:
- Create or refine a leadership curriculum that is right for your business.
- Identify additional behavioral and communication assessments that will provide leadership insights.
- Establish the financial budget required to deliver a comprehensive and ongoing set of leadership programs.
5. Establish KPIs for skill-enhancement initiatives.
6. Throughout the year, intentionally engage in ongoing conversations with each manager about:
- Self-evaluation of their developmental progress.
- Insights on the utilization of their strengths.
- Willingness to participate in more advanced analysis in the form of a 360° feedback process to monitor progress and fortify the organization’s commitment to its ongoing development.
Let’s commit to leveling-up the skills and competencies of current managers and future leaders. Enjoy the journey. ●
Judy Bodenhamer is Founder & Managing Director of Client Experience Group
