CEO & Leadership Succession Planning

Unlock your next generation of leaders

Ensuring the strength of your future leadership team is just as vital as the effectiveness of your current leaders. With 60% of internal promotions to executive positions failing within 18-months, getting it right is challenging. Our succession planning solutions reduce this risk by identifying and cultivating the next generation of C-Suite and critical leaders, both within and outside your organisation using powerful tools, data-driven insights and a comprehensive grasp of your organisation's culture and strategic priorities.

Intro

Succession Planning That Works

Planning

Planning for the succession of strategically significant leaders is critical to continued performance and stability. We work with clients to identify and plan for succession whether in the form of long-term planning, or emergency successions - from initial messaging and communication through to transition. By combining powerful tools and deep expertise, we work to understand the incumbent leader (where applicable), their integration and performance to create a comprehensive 'ideal candidate' profile.

Mapping

Whether we are looking inside the organisation, or further afield with integrated executive talent mapping - or both - we reveal a benchmark of what you have internally, and contrast this against the ideal profile and the wider market map where applicable. We go beyond ‘hard skills’ and assess a blend of personality, critical reasoning and ability assessments relevant to the context. We use this data and the context of the project to provide a suite of the most suitable options, whether that be external search or internal development programs.

Execution

We review assessment results and present the prospective options together with our recommendations, whether this be development and coaching plans to close skills or behavioural gaps of internal nominees, or an external search plan. These recommendations take into account your time horizon in the context of any gaps, and their likelihood of effectiveness. We then help plan your next steps, whether that be to bring together individual executive coaching and development plans, or a wider executive search project.

Why Do You Need Executive Succession Planning Consultants?

86% of CEO transitions arise from retirement or a planned exit, and 14% from unplanned departures. Being prepared for both situations and experiencing a seamless transition when the time is right is critical.

Leadership changes can potentially rock the boat or change its course entirely. Whether you are looking at a long-term succession plan for a key leader, exit or have an emergency succession challenge, bringing in specialist expertise and powerful tools can be the difference between success and failure.

While many organisations have potential succession talent in mind, knowing how they compare with the incumbent and the wider market is a critical consideration. Succession planning is far from a simple task - it is possibly the most significant business-critical transition your organisation will go through.

It needs to be done with careful counsel, insights and execution. That’s where we come in.

Developing Future Leaders

Once we know what success looks like and the options available to you, we combine our Executive Coaching and/or Leadership Development capabilities to develop bespoke development plans for individuals or teams which close any gaps in individual roles to make sure your organisation is efficient and effective at every level. Our leadership development experts and executive coaches have worked with leaders at all levels, from future leaders to FTSE and Fortune 500 CEOs - so we hand-pick experts which perfectly fit the context.

Our Approach To Succession

Identify

Stage 1

Ideal Profile

Stage 2

Assess

Stage 3

Execute

Stage 4

FAQ For Succession

Succession planning is the process of identifying and developing employees to fill key positions within an organisation. It is a strategic approach to ensuring that the organisation has the talent it needs to achieve its goals, even when key employees leave or retire.

Succession planning is more than just finding replacements for top executives. It should also focus on developing talent at all levels of the organisation. This helps to create a deep bench of qualified employees who are ready to step up into new roles when opportunities arise.

Effective succession planning is data-driven. Companies should use assessments to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their employees, and then compare those results to the requirements of key positions. This helps to identify any gaps that need to be addressed through development or external executive search.

To develop a succession plan for a senior leader or CEO, you need to take a holistic approach in order to:

  1. Identify the key roles and positions in your organisation. What roles are critical to the success of your business? What are the key competencies and skills that are required for these roles?
  2. Assess your current leadership team. Who are your top performers? Who has the potential to move into more senior roles? Consider factors such as experience, skills, knowledge, and leadership potential.
  3. Identify potential successors. Once you have assessed your current leadership team, you can start to identify potential successors for key roles. This may include internal candidates, external candidates, or a mix of both.
  4. Develop a development plan for each potential successor. This plan should identify the skills and knowledge that the individual needs to develop in order to be successful in the role. The plan should also include opportunities for the individual to gain experience and exposure.
  5. Communicate the succession plan to stakeholders. It is important to communicate the succession plan to key stakeholders, such as the board of directors, senior leaders, and employees. This will help to ensure that everyone is aligned on the plan and that there is a smooth transition when the time comes.

Over 60% of internal promotions to executive positions fail within 18-months. This is primarily due to lack of planning, assessment and failure to consider a full talent map and careful transition.

Succession planning is therefore critical.

First, it helps to ensure that the organisation has a pipeline of qualified candidates to draw from when key positions become vacant. This is important because it allows the organisation to avoid disruptions to business operations and to attract and retain top talent.

Second, succession planning helps to develop future leaders. By identifying and developing high-potential employees, organisations can identify a pool of qualified candidates who are ready to step into senior roles when the time comes. This helps to ensure that the organisation has the leadership it needs to be successful in the long term.

Third, succession planning can help to mitigate the risk of unexpected departures. By having a succession plan in place, organisations can be prepared to fill key positions quickly and efficiently, even if an employee leaves unexpectedly. This can help to minimise the disruption to business operations and to protect the organisation’s competitiveness.