Succession Planning: Developing Tomorrow's Leaders

Who will be leading your organization in 5 or 10 years? Is it you? Or, are you preparing to exit the corporate stage? As Baby Boomers prepare to move out of the executive suite over the next decade, there could be a leadership gap.

Recently I read a study funded by IBM Institute for Business Value and the Economist Intelligence Unit on Unlocking the DNA of the Adaptable Workforce, it states "The global economy is transforming into an integrated market, full of opportunity, competition and swirling change....Perhaps less well understood are the difficulties this expansion is causing today's organizations as they strive to make the best use of their most important assets: their workforce." One of the themes identified in the report was a leadership gap that is "putting future growth at risk." In fact, 75% of the 400 HR executives cited an inability to develop future leaders as a critical issue. (To read the study, http://www-03.ibm.com/industries/travel/doc/content/resource/thought/3459222106.html)


One of the things we need to do before retiring to the next phase of our lives is to prepare the next generation for leadership. Before we can do this, we have to understand the conditions these new leaders will be facing and the appropriate leadership needed to face tomorrow's challenges.

Our responsibility as leaders is to develop leaders who can lead the transition from the needs and challenges of today to the different conditions and challenges of tomorrow. I suspect that the leadership that is working now or did work yesterday will not be appropriate for the new conditions that are emerging: globalization, workforce diversity, geographically dispersed employees, new technology, etc.


To be able to do this, a leader needs to have a deep understanding of how his or her organization operates. This includes:

• The value systems that operate within the employees which influences how they interpret the world around them and what motivates them.
• How internal systems support your staff in successfully obtaining objectives.
• Know what resources and assets are available

One tool I use to help executives better understand the dynamics of their organization is the Spiral Dynamics Integral (SDi) CulturalSCAN, which identifies an organization's readiness for change, priorities (i.e., purpose, principles, profits, etc.), the present and desired work structure, executives intelligences and patterns of thinking. Think of it as taking a trip to somewhere you've never visited. Before you get into the car, you probably look at a road map to see where you are now and what direction you're going in. (To learn more, visit http://www.onlinepeoplescan.net)

A question you need to answer is: Will the culture and business systems of today be able to sustain the organization in the future?

An organization will need resiliency to simultaneously support today's needs as new organizational structures and leadership emerges for the new conditions. The good news is that you don't have to do this by yourself. You probably have the talent, creative thinking and competencies on your staff now. You need to recognize what competencies are required and who within your organizational possesses them.

There is no quick and easy solution. Succession planning requires time, reflection and dedication.