The goal with any succession plan is to align staff development with your strategic vision and build their leadership capacity. Succession plans have much better outcomes when they’re done in advance; the earlier you begin to chart out your plan, the higher your rate of success.

As managing director of Dale Carnegie India, my succession plan includes recruiting superior employees, developing their leadership skills, knowledge and abilities, and preparing them for advancement into more challenging roles. Actively pursuing succession planning ensures that this pool of talented individuals is constantly being honed to fill each required role. As the organization expands, loses employees and provides enhanced opportunities, my succession plan is built such that employees are poised and equipped to fill new roles. Unlike replacement planning - which grades individuals solely on the basis of their past performance - succession planning is predictive in judging an individual for a position he or she may never have been in before. Therefore, the practise includes a fair amount of insight into the character and temperament of the candidate, as well as taking the time to shape their professional outlook and decision-making faculties.

For an organization to report the greatest gains from succession planning, I would say that two important pre-requisites are high degrees of ownership by the top echelon of management, as well as high levels of engagement from those occupying leadership roles. The role of sage, trustworthy advisors is important too, as they help with transitions between leaders and successors. Over the past several years, the more progressive, pragmatic organizations have opted for a larger shift from job assignments to development, with a focus on managing key experiences that are critical to determining global business leaders. What was once a rigid, highly-confidential method of hand-picking executives to be company successors is now shaping into a fluid, transparent practise that identifies high-potential leaders and brings in development programs that prepare them for top positions. Today, succession planning is commonly considered part of the larger, more holistic strategy known as ‘talent management’. When managing internal talent, it’s important to know whether the right people are moving at the right pace into the right jobs at the right time. An effective succession planning strategy, coupled with concrete career development programs will paint a more promising future for employees.

But leadership competency doesn’t just come with a new title; it takes a leadership culture to optimize it. Merely identifying those with high levels of potential is not the end of it – their efforts need to be structured. This is why we at Dale Carnegie believe in inculcating thought leadership, wherein the most promising employees within the company are guided, mentored and assessed to identify and grow their strengths. With on-going development and mentorship by me, these managers and team leaders are slowly learning what it entails to one day, be in charge of their own organization. An open dialog provides tremendous opportunity for clarity and improvement. So, in addition to being able to express themselves effectively, these leaders of tomorrow must listen to and appreciate the value of input and respond wisely. I try to set an example for the levels of cooperation, fairness, trust and openness expected of good leaders.

It is more critical than ever to demonstrate a clear line of sight between investments in leadership and desired organizational outcomes. Through my mentoring of tomorrow’s leaders, I hope to align the business with talent development, creating a strong succession pipeline that understands what the organisation is now, what it wants to be, and how to get there.