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Do you systematically groom existing managers for higher levels of management? If not, you should. According to research reported in Harvard Business Review, CEOs promoted from the rank and file are far more likely to render exceptional performance than those selected from outsiders.
So how do you develop a successful succession plan?
Unless you have an unlimited budget, your first step should always be a systematic process for identifying true potential. As I explained in an earlier article, uncovering leadership potential is quite different from making judgements about people’s existing performance. Being a star individual performer demands different capabilities than successfully leading others. There are also marked differences between the capabilities required at different levels of leadership. Your role, therefore, is to predict as accurately as possible who is likely to succeed in higher levels of management, then systematically develop those individuals.
But what does systematic development entail?
Firstly, despite some popular notions to the contrary, research shows that CEOs with an MBA are more likely to be successful over the long term than those who lack this qualification. So one of the simplest ways to develop future leaders is to sponsor them in completing a formal MBA program. There is also a growing trend in which managers are given a series of short-term job placements to broaden their perspective and hone their skills in different parts of the business. Another simple strategy is to sponsor professional reading on a broad base of leadership and business topics by providing subscriptions to periodicals such as Harvard Business Review and Soundview Executive Book Summaries.
Finally, we suggest that you have a three-tiered series of experiential programs:
- One for aspiring or newly appointed managers with a focus on transitioning from achieving results based on their own efforts to achieving results through the impact they have on others.
- A second program for mid- to senior-level managers that focuses on leading staff outside their own professional field and leading other managers.
- A third program for general managers, CFOs, CEOs and other leaders at or near the very apex of their organisation with a focus on strategy, business acumen and transformational change.
