How do you select future leaders in your organisation without giving false expectations or unfulfilled promises? If you say nothing, the potential leader may leave. If you make the promise, what if the person fails to deliver? Mike Shreeve and Neil Kirby provide some answers.

Succession planning is a dilemma for many organisations. Many centuries ago, after deciding that a Pope cannot appoint their successor, the Catholic Church determined to elect the Pope in secret, with the ballot papers being burnt at the end of the session. The addition of either dry or damp wood produced white or black smoke (undecided) to illustrate the decision made.

For many of us, the appointment of a director or senior person has seemed as mysterious as the election of the Pope – conducted in secret and announced to a stunned workforce with some of the favourite candidates overlooked. These competent but less favoured employees frequently leave to join a competitor.

Open promotion process

Many organisations are finding it now makes sense to have an open promotion process, for a number of reasons. It is often better to develop your future leaders rather than recruit expensive finished products. The home-grown person already knows the customers, the values and the ways of working.

It is also expensive to train and develop staff and then have them leave, and it is very difficult to recruit at senior and manager level. The numbers of people with the exact skill mix to make a success at senior level is diminishing.

Equally, the expectations of the potential leader are important. They need to know what the prospects are, some likely time frames and the shape of the role.

Yet it cannot be one-sided. There has to be a vacancy, otherwise the directors’ room becomes overpopulated. Promoting people to give them a title but no real senior role creates an even bigger block for potential successors who do have the qualities required.

The quid pro quo is that there should be a business plan or business case that provides for succession. This may simply be based on the retirement of a director or a planned expansion or the launch of a new aspect of the business.

The final barrier to succession is that it is not always clear as to the skills required to become a director. Without such progression, promotion becomes a chicken and egg dilemma. The prospective leader lacks the required qualities and so does not obtain promotion. They stay in a role where they do not gain the experience to acquire the required skills. Eventually they may become disgruntled and leave.

One way of overcoming this is to make clear all the skills required at different levels through a skills ladder.

Putting these ideas together makes it possible to have a more open promotion process. This is based on the principles of honest feedback, assessment of skills and the requirements of the business. The organisation identifies a way of promotion. The candidate gets feedback on their skills and the ones they need to develop. The directors establish the business case required. The potential candidate then works actively on the development and the business results needed.

HR plays a vital role

The role of HR can be vital in the promotion process, such as recognising and championing the issue; designing the process; assessing the candidates; and assisting with the development. In assessing the candidates, it is useful for HR, as ‘process champions’, to focus on the development issues, whilst the senior line managers identify the business case.

Consider this example. Justine has worked at managerial level for several years. She has received little feedback on her career from her line manager, who, as a senior manager, is not fully privy to the thoughts of the senior directors. She receives a generally positive appraisal and both the customers and her team seem to like her. She has the following dilemmas:

• Will she need to move on to obtain promotion?




• What does she need to do to become a director?




• Why is the recently recruited manager on a salary of £5,000 more than her? Does the firm not value its own recruits?

Traditionally, these dilemmas are resolved in the following ways. Either Justine leaves or she makes a fuss about the salary and the business matches the new manager’s salary. If she stays, her trust and commitment levels are reduced. If she goes, the business has lost a future leader.

Looking at it from the director’s perspective, Justine is still a long way off from promotion. She lacks business winning and relationship management skills. Her line manager is reluctant to mislead her.

Using the promotion planning process, these dilemmas can be unlocked.

The first step is that the line manager notices Justine is unhappy and suggests a meeting to listen to her concerns. Alternatively, knowing that the firm has an open promotion programme she requests a meeting. Once it is clear that her agenda is to work towards promotion, the manager can explain the promotion processm, in which she is given honest feedback as to what is required.

Using the skills framework is a constructive way of saying what is needed. Many firms also supplement this with some tools such as 360 feedback and the MBTI (Myers Briggs Temperament Indicator). This results in a development plan.

Coming back to our example, Justine works with a coach to achieve some of her goals, largely around the winning of new business. She attends specific training courses. At the end of the year she presents her business case, showing how she had won new work and the skills she had acquired.

There is no guarantee of success, but Justine will know for sure whether she has what it takes to be a director. If there is no current vacancy she can have a constructive conversation about deadlines. On the other hand, she may be already performing at the level required; making the decision a formality.

A year ago Justine might have left. Now the business has created better succession and Justine will contribute to the future. This process will work even if she had not met all the criteria. The only difference is the time delay.

Providing an assessment and effective coaching means that those with potential will usually reach the standards required. It is an area in which HR can add significant value to the business.

Mike Shreeve and Neil Kirby are both CIPD qualified and provide a promotion assessment and coaching service to partnerships and businesses called the Future Leaders Programme. For more information, contact Mike at mikes@coachathelixhr.f9.co.uk or 07940 130970; or Neil at neil@neilkirby.co.uk or 07887 955643.