Leadership Development And The Leadership Pipeline

linking competencies and succession planning
Executive Summary
The importance of competencies and competency models has been seen from the 1960's onward. Competencies address both current performance and issues of growth. When the employees are the interface between the company and the customer, or with a business partner it makes immense sense to identify the skills that can help them perform better. But having done this is not enough. It is imperative that we look at and assess how these competencies not only help to develop individuals but also help to ensure consistent survival and growth of an organization.
Leadership Development and the Leadership Pipeline are not just meant for the C-Suite employees of a company, but is infact for
There are 4 rules to follow in keeping with this definition:
• The focus should be performance
• The pipeline demands a continuous flow
• The pipeline turns must be fully understood
• Short term & Long term must be considered simultaneously.
Succession planning is a forward looking process, but it begins in the here and now. One of the primary assumptions is that the future will be different from the present. The best succession planning begins with a well thought-out strategy of where the marketplace and the business are going. Any succession strategy should be linked with the business strategy.
Five Steps to Successful Succession Planning
1. Define leadership competencies and results needed for the firm to thrive in the future.
2. Assess current leaders against these competencies and results.
3. Share leadership competencies and results with "the next generation" and ask them about their career aspirations.
4. Have interested leadership candidates develop a plan for achieving desired competencies and business
The most important and telling aspects of the leadership development process take place beneath the top level often out of view of anyone outside the organization. There should be a focus on developing talent at all levels within the organization. There will always be a need to hire talent from outside in order to instill new ideas into the company but as much as possible one must attempt to promote and grow from within. Training their own leaders and bringing them up through the ranks helps to ensure a steady supply of talent that has been groomed to meet their needs and match their culture. A common example of this phenomenon is seen in General Electric.
At the very heart of a comprehensive succession process is the notion of identifying high potential executives- those whom the organization is placing bets on for success and will want to keep- and giving them ample opportunity and training to develop their talents. Adhering to this philosophy helps to increase the pool of talent in an organization and ensures fewer and less lengthy gaps in leadership. There is also less risk in appointment of people who are homegrown. There is also potential for more stable, even improves market capitalization, because of confidence in leadership continuity and