The CEO and founder of a major Bay Area Company contacted me about his retiring in a few years and the search for a successor. In collaboration with the Board of Directors and Senior Leadership Team, we created a competency model for the CEO position. I provided executive/leadership coaching for two of the company VP’s who were selected as CEO candidates.
As a result of the executive /leadership coaching, The Board of Directors and CEO selected one of the VP’s, who most clearly demonstrated the requisite CEO competencies to lead the company into the future.
Have you picked one or more potential successors?
If you aren’t identifying potential successors and developing their leadership abilities, then you are contributing to business and personal stagnation. There won’t be enough leaders to grow the business.
When challenging and testing people, you must frequently delegate more to them. This frees you to focus on critical strategic matters facing the business. When people are not being challenged, they may leave to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Planning for succession means your people will improve their performance, you’ll be more successful through them, and you will pave the way for your own promotion. Failure to actively plan for succession means you do not delegate sufficiently and become a decision-making bottleneck.
Ask yourself:
• Have I, at least in my own mind, picked one or more potential successors?
• Am I coaching them and giving them challenging assignments?
• Am I delegating sufficiently?
• Have I become a decision-making bottleneck?
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