Succession Planning

Be prepared 

Although replacing executives is one of the variables over which Boards and organisations have complete control, research (and Winsborough’s experience) has long shown that most organisations are unprepared to replace them.   

Poor succession planning leads to talent shortages, organisational turmoil, opportunity costs from poor transitions, personal stress and hits to brand equity. 

Winsborough work with Boards and leadership teams using a structured approach to executive succession.  Four steps ensure the process prepares candidates, incumbents and the organisation for smooth successions: 

1. Spend time building alignment at the Board and Executive level about the future operating environment, and develop talent profiles for that world (not the current one). Update the talent profiles annually.
2. Benchmark talent inside the company using Winsborough’s robust methods. Discuss the profiles with each candidate, and build development pathways for each individual. 
3. Stay in touch with the aspirations and hopes of candidates. Life changes and people aren’t static. Assuming that someone still wants a senior role is a rookie error.
4. Build relationships with talent beyond the firm, so that internal talent can be benchmarked and the pool widened. Although internal succession has been shown in most circumstances to lead to better outcomes, water from a deep pool is always fresher than a puddle.

To find out more about how Winsborough can assist you with Succession Planning.