How can you develop a fair and equitable succession plan for all employees?

What I've found makes a difference is establishing a straightforward and reliable system for giving and receiving feedback - going beyond the occasional performance review to integrate real-time, any-time, specific feedback into daily work and post-action activity. When people know what they're doing well and where they can improve, it cuts through ambiguity and helps them focus on what matters. When you're clear about how someone's work contributes to the whole system, it drives motivation and clarity. It also helps identify where someone might need additional training, support, or resources. Plus, it encourages a more proactive approach to individual and professional development.

Sentiment analysis gauges employee perceptions; emotion analysis assesses potential leaders' emotional quotient through their communications; thematic analysis finds patterns in their experiences indicating leadership readiness. These ML insights, combined with performance data, create a well-rounded profile for selecting successors who align with our client's values and culture.

We often think of succession planning as being about hand picking candidates to replace current leaders. I believe this view fosters excessive personalization of the process, enabling certain leaders to have outsized influence on who makes up the next generation of leadership. Current leaders select future leaders who are in their own image - who look and think like them. In a fast-changing world, this may not be the right path to building a future leadership team equipped to succeed. And it is certainly not the recipe for diversity in leadership. For these reasons, I would always anchor succession planning in objective, empirical assessments of the drivers of advancement and performance. (Continued below), , ,

Get everyone on the same page by having a co-creation dialogue about what succession planning ought to be. The discussion should not be a one-time thing. Keep the conversation going. The plan should continue to improve based on ongoing input from stakeholders, not just the top of the house. Employees at all levels must identify how their roles today shape future practices. When it comes to decision-making, don't just ask for feedback — use it. People can tell when you're just going through the motions, and that's a surefire way to lose their trust. Involve them in real choices, let them champion projects, and invite them participate in discussions that matter.

Continued. . . Using advanced analytics, you can identify actual success profiles - the individual and situational factors predictive of advancement and high performance - and use them to ensure up-and-coming talent is being positioned to succeed. Often, the best, most agile talent is hidden from view, their actual value camouflaged by the effects of adverse conditions. Their contribution isn't as visible as that of their "luckier" peers. Too often, those working in such disadvantaged situations are women and minorities. As a result, they don't make it into succession plans. Using empirically-identified success profiles to proactively manage careers can help overcome these barriers and produce a more effective succession planning process.