What are the best ways to integrate emotional intelligence into succession planning?

Emotional Intelligence is a baseline of mental and emotional alignment. This is a trait that should not be expected only from leaders but across the organisation. Younger executives should develop these competencies through coaching and training and actively practice this throughout their career. Imagine an emotionally intelligent organisation in motion where there is trust, engagement, people focus, results, and performance for the business. Emotional Intelligence is also 'Strengths at play' (CliftonStrengths). Having an emotionally intelligent and strengths based culture will keep the organisation equipped to deal with the fast changing business landscapes of today.

In a VUCA world, leaders are the centre of attention and must demonstrate their E.I., speaking sincerely, maintaining an image of serenity, listening to other points of view, dialoguing, searching for internal and external experiences that can be applied. and promoting innovation and experimentation, taking an interest in the team emotional state and guaranteeing the psychological safety, relying on a professional network of trust and support.

Emotional Intelligence is a competency required at every organizational level, and especially in senior leadership roles. For the purposes of succession planning, the mentoring or coaching strategy within the organization should emphasize cultivating Emotional Intelligence. Programs such as the Arbinger Institute's Outward Mindset training are good examples of cultivating empathy and systems thinking rather than relying on individual goals. For leaders, an executive coach can work with clients on recognizing their strengths and growth opportunities, such as creating opportunities for better team dynamics and communication; active listening; recognizing when employees are showing signs of burnout; and building emotional regulation capacity.

Successful succession planning relies on more than having the right experience profile, title or seniority. A leader with good EI can rapidly determine if a choice or a next step is not just right on paper but also right for the person who's being considered for the role. Strong EI also allows leaders to address potential barriers to successful succession planning, like self-doubt, external doubt, and anything that has to do with managing the reactions and emotions of individuals who are inheriting a new leader.

In my experience, simplifying the process helps people adopt a new model quickly. Measuring a "what vs how" can pull apart how much EI they have as a leader. Emphasizing the how is equal if not more important to those who fall into the "what" or achievement portion.

Good executive coaching focuses first on helping leaders identify their priorities (needs), what self-limiting beliefs are potentially impacting their leadership and success, and then evaluating skill gaps. Those skill gaps may further address EI skills like conflict management, assertive communication skills, self-awareness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, risk tolerance, and so on. A good executive coach should be able to address those needs at a knowledge/skill level while also modeling strong EI for their clients. The growth is then magnified through active learning and passive learning via modeling.

I may actually be the outlier here but in my experience this is NOT a good place to thrust coaching on a person. The succession conversation must be about impact and potential. Raising a concern there IS an issue is the most important step. Then an important part of the process must occur. The employee must see for themselves this is a problem. Otherwise, the organization is wasting time and money. Most coaches will be protective of reporting conversations to an employer. So the coachee may not even be selecting topics that help them in the ways the organization may want. If the employee sees the gap and wants to get better - then coaching is a viable option for a solution - and ONLY then.

At the most basic level, you need to find a coach who understands your industry and has some specialization in the needs of your successor (e.g., an executive coach who works with women in high-stakes and high-impact industries if your successor is going to be a woman). Beyond that, the coach and the successor must be a good fit from a personality standpoint. The most expert coaches will be ineffective if they're made to work with someone who's not a good personality fit.

Everyone's emotional intelligence develops at a different pace. For coaching to help build EI, the coachee has to be open to coaching in the first place. It's hard to force it onto anyone, let alone someone who is a potential candidate for leadership in a succession plan. You have to first see signs that the candidate can do both: coach and be coached. Executive coaching can help once their mind is open to self-reflection.