Earlier this year, I was working with an executive who had all the characteristics of a great leader; high emotional intelligence, an engaged team, an approachable leadership style, and great results. There was one thing missing: he didn't have a successor. Although his team members met or exceeded expectations in their current roles, not one of them was prepared to move into a senior leadership role. This was a concern for the organization, as the CEO realized he had several executives nearing retirement, yet didn't have the talent in the pipeline to fill these high-level leadership roles.
This isn't uncommon; many leaders focus on personal development and don't always see the immediate need for developing a successor. Perhaps you've been through leadership training, you listen to personal development podcasts and read leadership books; you are self aware and work to develop your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. You are always looking to improve; reading trade magazines, and attending webinars, conferences, and industry events. You may even spend time coaching your employees to perform their best in their current roles.
Personal development and applying what you learn has a significant impact on your success as a leader. Yet many executives and managers are so focused on self-improvement, that they sometimes forget an important piece of successful leadership: developing the bench strength a level below them and preparing mid-managers for executive level roles.
No matter how effective you may be at leading and getting results, you will never be a highly successful leader if you do not have a plan for your succession. Not every employee is capable of moving beyond their current role, but as a leader you have to assess each individual on your current team and create a plan to develop or hire the talent you will need in your pipeline for the future.
Below are four strategies for developing your leadership pipeline:
Assess your bench strength. For each individual on your team, create a simple assessment of how he or she performs in the current role. What are her strengths? Weaknesses? Does she have leadership potential? Has she fully developed the competencies of her current role? Are there any gaps? When you review the competencies of a future management or executive role, how does she measure up? What competencies and skills can you start to develop in her to prepare her for the future role? Assess each of your employees so you can understand their individual strengths and weaknesses, how they are currently performing, and who has demonstrated leadership potential.
Identify high potentials. Once you have completed the individual assessments, identify any high potential employees who stand out. If you left your position today, who might be ready to move into your role? If there is no natural successor, who has the potential to develop into the role over the next three to five years? If no current employees have leadership potential, how will you handle that? For example, if an employee on your team leaves, perhaps you focus on hiring a new employee with executive leadership potential whom you can groom for your role. Create a snapshot of the current performance and potential future performance for each of your employees, and identify potential successors.
Create individual development plans. Once you have identified high-potential employees, create an individual development plan for each one. Ideally you will have several employees who have the potential to succeed your position. But even if you have just one, determine what competencies, skills or knowledge the employee will need to be successful in a leadership role. Then find opportunities that will develop this employee or expose him to the needed skills. This could be education, like conferences and leadership schools, or internal opportunities like managing a high level project. Earlier in my career as a director of human resources, my vice president had me present a strategic initiative to the Board of Directors. Although I was nervous to interact with the Board, my VP explained that getting exposure to the Board at the director level was to prepare me for eventually taking over the vice president role. A year later, when my VP moved out of state, I was promoted to vice president with the support of the Board. Find opportunities that will challenge and prepare your high-potentials for leadership roles.
Involve the employee. When you have identified your high potential employees, share with them that they are considered high-potential. Not only is this a great engagement tool (employees want to be developed and have the opportunity to reach their potential), but it also allows them to be engaged in the process. Involve your employee by asking her questions to facilitate the development: Is she interested in eventually moving into a leadership role? What skills does she feel she needs to develop in? What would her strengths be in that role, and how can she leverage them? What projects or initiatives would she like to lead in the organization to prepare? Development is a two-way street. It takes time and commitment from you to coach and mentor, as well as from your employee to take initiative and ownership of her development.
Even if you plan to stay in your current role indefinitely, exceptional leaders develop and prepare high-potential employees for future leadership roles. When you understand each employee's professional goals and work to develop them to their potential, you are creating your leadership legacy.I'd love to hear how you are preparing your high-potentials. What is one thing you are doing to build your leadership pipeline? Share your comments below!
Whenever I have a work project that I keep putting off - I think about delegating that project to someone else - which accomplishes 2 things- it gets the project done and frees us my brain space thinking about it.
Good morning. I loved this read. Thank you so much for sharing. Sincerely, Melissa :)
Thank you for this blog Laurie. I liked most part and specially "As organizations have become more complex, there is a tendency to require employees to do more with less. This is a slippery slope, and often can result in employees feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. One of the biggest contributors to this is not evaluating resources during the strategic planning process." I will use this practice "A best practice is to do what I call Priority Planning—putting important practices on your calendar ahead of time so they become a priority in your day. Examples of activities to Priority Plan include scheduling recurring coaching sessions with each team member, time for strategic thinking and planning, vacations, doctor appointments, important children’s events, and blocks of time for focused work on projects." To be more effective, I will get a good rest so I can have enough energy in the morning. I will read the blog again along with the other links on employee evaluation. Thank you so much Laurie. Best wishes to you and your family.
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I love the feedback on the more than 50 hours of work. AND filling time. So true. Unfortunately, showing that you work longer hours is still seen as being a "hard worker" - not sure how to change that though.
I enjoyed the read. I concur that transitioning from technical skills to delegating results was a task within itself. I did not realize I was almost trying to do the same thing from my previous position, and it was not working. However, I am seeing the results of how delegating daily tasks makes my job and workload easier. Thank you, Laurie.
Thank you for sharing information about your trip Laurie! All 3 things resonate with me - probably #1 being the biggest. I know when I'm gone for a week, I'm still thinking about work and need a vacation when I get back because I did not relax enough. I think your idea of a longer vacation is definitely in my future!!
Hey Laurie, My take on your list - 1 - everyone has a story - listen 2- social media causes interpersonal problems 5- generational differences create hurdles / earn it you aren't entitled / we should help them get there not give it to them 6 AMEN some leaders I would have followed thru Hell, some I wish - well, you know 7- true BUT be as good as your word and 14- Hopefully we leave some good from our efforts, I know the good leaders I have had have. Seen a lot in my career but it really comes down to treat others the way you want to be treated, fair, honest, and straight forward. Good read. Take care
I love this so much and thank you so much for sharing! I really just love realizing that enjoying the simple things sometimes is the best! Also recognizing that what is important and fun to you may not be everyone else's fun on the on the trip. “Do we get to keep these toiletries?” was my favorite!!!! :):) Glad you had a great time and got to spend it with your family!
I very much resonate with lesson no 3! Thank you Laurie
I think the part that you might have missed in their top 5 things, some of which were not "Italian" or even different from home, all of them happened with you, both of you. And i think that is what they will remember too. And you've got tons of photos that will remind them of what the Sistine Chapel looked like - then they might remember what it sounded like or smelled like. Oh- and i agree with you 100% about sleep!
LOTS of great take-aways from this post! Thank you for posting! I especially love "slow down to speed up". That's a keeper!
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the not getting enough rest to be at my best. definitely need to get more quality sleep and make that a priority
It really is hard to narrow down the 3 lessons into one because they are all so interconnected. You need to give your mind and body THE TIME to relax SO THAT you can enjoy the SIMPLE THINGS, including REST. I enjoyed that lesson as a whole. I will take that lesson with me on my next vacation (or staycation). As always, thank you Laurie for your candor and for sharing your own lessons with others so that we too can benefit.
Great information and reminders
Laurie, Thank you for sharing your trip and these nuggets. The lessons that resonate most with me are it does take time to relax and getting proper rest. When you devote 15 plus hours of your day for work, taking care of home and others; the 6-7 hours you lay down does not cut it! For me during this time I'm trying to unwind and find myself thinking fighting not to think about what I have to do tomorrow. Even after I create a to do list for the next day...I find things I need to add. Taking a day off here and there doesn't cut it as well because of all the plans you have for that day. I try to make sure my Mental Health Days remains just that.... time for me to laugh, cry, scream.... whatever I need to release the cares and stress!
Really enjoyed the article... and all very true!
Since I was already well aware of #1 (I'm in the same boat with taking a long time to relax), I think I'm resonating most with #3. I'm learning to prioritize sleep / rest and it's been wonderful. Love that you said "I love sleep.". :)
Welcome back from vacation. Well deserve! Action is the key to success. Shoulder to shoulder, coaching and delegating task to help other employees grow are very important. It is a sacrifice that one must do. Forget about yourself and be with your team day in and out to help them grow, is not always easy. On the long run, your team is stronger, and you can depend on them for the success of the organization. Thank you so much!
So many great tips here, thank you!
I am so impressed you're able to disconnect and these are great tips I'll be sure to try on my next trip!
Such a great post - so inspiring!