"From now on, [choosing my successor] is the most important decision I’ll make. It occupies a considerable amount of thought almost every day." - Jack Welch, on succession planning in 1991 (10 years before his retirement)
Leadership development and succession planing is critical for today’s organisations. Successful leaders take considerable time in developing leaders and plan for leadership succession, to ensure that they leave a legacy and that their mission is completed. Sucession planning starts long before the leader is ready to leave the organisation. It’s part of the leaders responsibility to develop others.
- How are you going about succession planning in your team and organisation?
- Is succession planning a daily responsibility of company management and leadership?
Consider the following…..
"How am I doing as a leader? The answer is how the people you lead are doing. Do they learn? Do they visit customers? Do they manage conflict? Do they initiate change? Are they growing and getting promoted? You won’t remember when you retire what you did in the first quarter of 1994 or the third. What you’ll remember is how many people you developed. How many people you helped have a better career because of your interest and your dedication to their development…. When confused as to how you’re doing as a leader, find out how the people you lead are doing. You’ll know the answer." - Larry Bossidy from The Leadership Engine
If the answer to the above questions is "no" or "I don’t know" then I would say you’re not effectively managing leadership succession….
"At the end of the day, you be on people, not on strategies" - Larry Bossidy from The Leadership Engine
Technorati Tags: Leadership Development, Leadership, Management, Business, Succession, Planning, Strategy, HR, Talent, Learning, Growth
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George,
Great thoughts on succession planning. I’m sorry to admit that tend not to think about this topic a great deal, but will definitely try to include this important facet. Leadership development and mentoring are critical cornerstones for every leader. One would be hard-pressed to define their leadership practice without these activities.
One would not be effectively leading an organization without the focus on developing the next generation of leaders and particularly planning the succession which may happen when we least expect. One of the responsibilities of a leader is to look out for the best interest of the organization. The leader who is at the center of the organization may inadvertently cause the organization to falter after his or her departure. One of the strongest testaments of a leader is what happens in the organization after the leader is notlonger there. For GE, after Jack’s departure, the organization has continued to maintain relatively good stability and this is, in part, a tribute to the forward actions of Jack Welch.
Regards,
Jonathan Frye
Blog: Leadership