[Q&A] What if I don’t have a successor?

Dear DISC Wizard,

You and I have talked in the past about my Succession Plan and you asked me if I already had my successor in my organization.? And the truth is, I don’t know.? As you pointed out, I am biased based on my leadership style and tend to look for someone like myself. So how do I make the determination if someone has the potential to be the next leader my company needs?? ~ Paul J.

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Dear Paul,

Yours is a question I wish more leaders asked because it begins where Succession Planning should begin… asking the question “What do we need?”?

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So many times, organizations start with “Who do we have?” That is the wrong approach as it presumes you know what your role needs in the near and distant future and that the talent that’s required is already on hand.?

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Instead, we begin the Succession Planning journey the same way we begin the filling of any role – by determining what success looks like in the position. If the job could talk, what would it ask for?? Only then are we able to determine who would be a good fit!

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Here is a sample of our Job Fit Process along with a few more resources that might be helpful.?

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PROCESS FOR CHOOSING SUCCESSORS:

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WHAT: DISC WIZARD’S Job Fit Process

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WHY: Utilizing the same Job Benchmarking Process we use to make the best hiring decisions, we help companies analyze what is needed in a specific position and then choose the right successor.?

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Our Succession Planning Model begins with “What do we need?” and “What does success look like?” before it ever asks “Who do we have?”?

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Once the criteria for the position is determined, then we are able to analyze current staff to see if a potential successor exists.?

When a potential successor is identified, there are sure to be some skills and behavior gaps between where they are and where we need them to be to assume the role of successor.? That’s where training and coaching begins.?

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SYSTEM FOR DEVELOPING SUCCESSORS:

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WHAT: TEGRALEARN Online Learning Platform (created by my friends and colleagues Phillip Shero, Ph.D. and Laura Shero, Ph.D. )

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WHY: Most leadership training classes fail to deliver the desired results… the development and execution of leadership skills and traits.? Turns out, the way adults learn best is different from what most leadership training offers.? TegraLearn integrates the following elements in the leadership journey:

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• Assessment Based: Assesses before training — because people want to know where they stand and how the training relates to their current or future job.
• Adult Learning Science: Trains the way adults actually learn — engaging and relevant video content, immediate practical application, and repeated reinforcement over time.
• Live Coaching: Integrates live coaching — the completion rate for self-paced courses is 5%, but a live coach increases completion and accountability to produce real behavior change.

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SUCCESSION PLANNING RESOURCE FOR LEADERS:

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WHAT: WHO COMES NEXT?: Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy by Meridith Elliott Powell.

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WHY: Every organization needs a plan for leadership succession, but few leaders know how to start the process. WHO COMES NEXT? solves that problem and easily guides you through the steps of creating a viable succession plan.

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The book simplifies the process and gives you the tools you need to build and activate your leadership succession.

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Once you’ve made the decision to start Succession Planning, the next decision is “How are we going to approach it?” ?

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While there are many ways to go about Succession Planning, it should come as no surprise that we recommend ones that favor the practical over the theoretical.

And the most practical advice we can give in this amount of space is:

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• Think BIG
• Start small
• Begin Now!

If you’d like to talk through any ideas for your own Succession, feel free to reach out to us to discuss.

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~ Nancy Roberts

The DISC Wizard

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“Succession planning fails because it often results in a selection of a weaker representation of yourself.” ~ Peter Drucker, management?consultant and author