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Navigating the Ins and Outs of Executive SuccessionEric Beaudan – Odgers Berndtson
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Succession Planning is Tough Work…
Does your plan include these key
elements?Does your organization have
a succession plan in place to
replace today’s senior
executives?
Source: Odgers Berndtson Canadian Executive
Leadership Survey, 2013
What do the Stats Tell us…?
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Fewer Leaders are “Ready Now”
8%
25%
59%
8%...are ready now to take on senior executive responsibilities
...will need 2 or 3 more years of mentoring before they are ready to take on senior executive responsibilities
...will need 5 or more years of mentoring before they are ready to take on senior executive responsibilities
None of these options apply
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3 Approaches to Succession
Tight Script
Hail Mary
Laissez Faire
Leaders come and go –you can’t control it
Future leaders will naturally emerge as new challenges arise
Identify clear successors for key roles
Internal candidates compete in what is essentially a “horse race”
Wait until CEO or key roles become vacant
Lob in internal or external talent
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What Top Global Companies Do
Best Practice in Succession Planning & Development Global Top Companies
All Other
Development of high potential pool 100% 84%
Assessment of leadership skill gaps 100% 78%
Clear identification of critical roles for future success 100% 72%
Development of successors for specific positions 96% 75%
Identify leader’s current performance vs future potential 96% 73%
Ready now vs ready future rating 88% 72%
360-degree feedback 84% 66%
Communication of accelerated development plans 80% 58%
Source: Aon Hewitt
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Development Strategies: Digging Further
Source: Odgers Berndtson Canadian Executive Leadership
Survey, October 2012
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Getting the Process Right
Well defined succession objectives:
Assess the leadership potential of internal leaders, and work with each individual, the Board and the CEO to create a development track that will, over time, maximize individual readiness to take on more senior roles.
Provide a meaningful leadership development experience for leaders who will participate in the process, and challenge their willingness to step outside their day-to-day thinking in order to tackle emerging business challenges and opportunities.
Identify up to 3 CEO successors who will be ready to take on the CEO role within 2 to 5 years, and create accelerated development plans for these leaders.
1. ANALYSIS
2. ASSESSMENT3. DEVELOPMENT
4. TRANSITION
Develop evaluation questionnaire
Interview key stakeholders
Create CEO capabilities matrix
Identify development goals and projects foreach potential successor
Monitor individual progress, provide supportand coaching
If required, conduct full external search
Appoint successful candidate
Accelerate executive team alignment
Candidates complete Hogan instruments
LeaderFit assessment ofeach candidate (incl. 360)
Individual feedback andBoard review
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Tip 1: Start with the Big Picture
Succession planning and development
is a great opportunity to think about
the types of leaders you will need to
tackle future business challenges and
evolve your organization culture.
Individual leadership & development implications
Organization culture and
design implications
Expected challenges,
opportunities and key
differentiators
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Tip 2: Have the Tough Conversations
U571 clip - U-571 (4/11) Movie CLIP - A Submarine Captain ... – YouTube
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Four Essential Characteristics
INTEGRITY
JUDGMENT
COMPETENCE
VISION
STEP 1: Defining Leadership Capabilities
Business Challenges & Opportunities
GLOBALIZATION
COMPETITIVE TRENDS
TECHNOLOGY, CYBER
GOVERNMENT
REGULATIONS
STEP 1: Sample Leadership Requirements
Stakeholder Management:
Work with the Board, employees and stakeholders to ensure acceptance and support for XYZ’s long-term vision.
Build trust and manage relationships with external stakeholders (federal, provincial, municipal governments, customers, tenants andprovincial associations).
Build XYZ’s social license with local communities.
Execution Savvy:
Understand the complexity of leading capital development projects and dealing with the requirements of transportation and energyindustry.
Focus the organization on execution of five-year plans, large-scale project management and process improvements.
Resolve potential conflicts with partners and stakeholders.
Make timely decisions while balancing the organization’s long-term needs with the reality on the ground.
Resilience and Adaptability:
Engaging and articulate communicator.
Approachable, self-aware, open and transparent.
Composed, stable and able to respond to crises and new developments.
Politically astute, diplomatic, empathetic and able to balance sense of business with finesse in managing issues and relationships.
People and Team Development:
Lead and develop an effective, credible senior leadership team.
Delegate effectively, create positive atmosphere focused on growth and development.
Ensure that all employees are motivated to contribute fully to the realization of the organization’s vision and objectives.
Strategic Clarity:
Address strategic implications of increased trans-Canada trade within the context of XYZ’s vision to be a major contributor to Canada’s economic growth through international trade.
Leverage knowledge base and experience to ensure ongoing success and champion amalgamation initiatives.
Balance commercial interests with commitment to social, environmental and political issues.
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STEP 2: Assessment Methodology
Identify leadership requirements for role.
Understand company culture and direction.
Map requirements to leadership assessment tools.
Completion of assessment instruments (eg Hogan).
Assessment questionnaire and structured interview.
360 references (boss, peers, direct reports, stakeholders).
Psychometric results (leadership tendencies, derailers, values).
Custom assessment report.
Comparative assessment of executives.
UPFRONT ANALYSIS
ASSESSMENT
REPORT
DEBRIEF
When assessing internal candidates, regardless of the tools you use, it is
critical to ensure that the assessment yields information that allows leaders
to gain strategic self-awareness and develop concrete development plans:
Individual debrief.
Development plan (with CEO/Board inputs).
Optional: on-going coaching and online 360 follow up
STEP 2: Sample Assessment Summary (OB)
Leadership Strengths:• Strategic Clarity: represents the
organization well, believes in XYZ mandate and politically savvy
• Stakeholder Management: builds strong relationships with stakeholders and customers, perceived as “quietly confident”
• Team player – non confrontational, learning and people oriented
Development Needs:• Influencing Skills: he can at times avoid
confrontations and is not always seen as a strong influencer with peers and with the Board
• Team Development: he will on occasion need to set high expectations with his team and hold people accountable
• He can get too closely involved in managing the details, which can result in slow decision making
LEADERFIT ASSESSMENT RATINGS- JOHN SWEETDEVELOPING PROFICIENT STRONG OUTSTANDING
Strategic Clarity
Execution Savvy
Resilience & Adaptability
Stakeholder Management
People and Team
Overall LeaderFit Potential
Development Goals
Specific Behaviors and Actions Required-
Areas of Focus for Development
Coaching and Learning Plan Measures of Success
Development Goal #1
Develop strategies to
work in conjunction with
the Executive Leadership
Team, sharing goals and
ownership of
responsibilities to
entrench client centric
culture
STOP:
Thinking that you need to shoulder
all of the responsibility yourself
Communicating excessively in
writing
START:
Seek advice and counsel from ELT
on progress on a major initiative
Focus on efforts to work more with
and support other ELT members
1. Identify 2 major operational initiatives
requiring ELT support
2. Identify 3 team centric shared goals and
values to support high performance
leadership culture and track adherence
3. Determine how and the extent to which
this leadership behavior is filtering down
to senior managers and beyond
Increased level of employees’
confidence in the ELT’s ability to
achieve transformation
Increased level of employee
engagement scores
Increased level of open and candid
dialogue at the ELT level
Development Goal #2
Practice and encourage
others to seek and
provide regular and
unsolicited feedback to
ELT members, direct
reports and staff to
elevate organizational
performance
STOP:
Working in a task vacuum
Assuming others know or prefer to
figure it out by themselves
START:
Communicating on a more
spontaneous basis
Realizing that others are in need of
your knowledge, expertise and
moral support
1. Setting daily targets with regards to
providing or collecting input from others
2. Identify 2 individuals who show promise
and track coaching and mentoring activity
and progress
3. Institute an active 2 way communication
culture within the ELT and with direct
reports
Perception of increased personal
and professional accessibility
Improved scores on 360’s and
organizational scans
More effective succession planning
Development Goal #3
STEP 3: Sample Development Plan
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STEP 4: Onboarding Plan
12 Month Overview of Onboarding Challenges & Coaching Focus
““The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour.” –Japanese proverb
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Tip 3: Manage the Dynamics
Assess the leadership potential of internal leaders, and work with each individual, the Board and the CEO to create a development track that will, over time, maximize individual readiness to take on more senior roles.
To be successful, succession planning and management needs to be an on-going topic for formal discussions at the senior team and Board levels, reinforced by concrete process and development plans.
It’s tough, but possible, to avoid the “winners” and “losers” syndrome as a result of succession.
As an HR partner, be prepared for the unexpected: strengths and derailers will be exacerbated as people jostle for key roles.
Pay extreme attention to what and how you communicate internally and externally: everyone is watching you!
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CREATIVE EXECUTION WHAT GREAT LEADERS DO TO UNLEASH BOLD THINKING AND INNOVATION
Eric Beaudan, Global Leadership Practice Director at Odgers Berndtson published his book Creative Execution through Wiley in 2012 .
The book highlights the leadership practices of highly successful companies such as the Four Seasons, Toyota and Google.
Book Signing TODAY!
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: The bookstore is located at the very back of the tradeshow hall (Hall E).
Please join us today for a book signing with Eric Beaudan, Author of Creative Execution.
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ERIC BEAUDAN
Leadership Practice Director | Odgers Berndtson
200 Bay Street, Suite 3150,Royal Bank Plaza South Tower Toronto, ON M5J 2J3
416-366-1990 ext. [email protected]
Thank You!