Talent Journey

In today’s organizations, much Human Resource focus goes toward making the right hiring choices and building teams to ensure success. We agree this is mission critical! We also assert that a rigorous succession management system marks the distinction between very good and legacy great companies. In fact, Jim Collins (“Good to Great”) found that the best leaders (Level 5) cared more about the legacy they left behind then the name they created in the present!

The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
- William James

Why is succession management so important? It is part of the strategy organizations use to create sustainable leadership through the natural course of departures, terminations, and retirements from your organization. Just as a personal will protects your family’s future, succession management provides clear guidance and continuity for your organization’s future. This ensures that the mission, values, momentum and success you have built thrives in the future.

History provides both good and bad succession management examples. For example, most people remember the ancient story of Moses in the Bible. Moses was a legacy leader. He spent years developing Joshua as his successor. When Joshua stepped into leadership, the transition was nearly seamless and the Israelites prospered immediately. Unfortunately, Joshua did not recreate this seamless transition. Joshua failed to develop a successor and Israel struggled for over 300 years after that without an effective leader.

What was true in the ancient days still holds true today. State Farm Insurance is known for their rigorous succession management system. Their website features numerous leadership, diversity, and community awards: http://www.statefarm.com/about/careers/awards_recog.asp. Many of the awards call out State Farm’s renowned succession management and development process. On the other hand, we can all think of a plethora of poor succession processes. One recently poor transition occurred at Bank of American when the former CEO Kenneth Lewis announced that he planned to retire within 3 months, surprising the board. Responsible board and leadership teams prepare years in advance for leadership transition.

Clearly, succession management is MISSION CRITICAL. So, why do so many organizations either fail to implement or under-engage in managing succession? The first obstacle is leadership focus. Most of us keep plenty busy managing today’s urgent issues and have difficulty getting around to succession management. The second reason fuels the first. Many leadership teams perceive that the succession management process is cumbersome and time-consuming. In reality, however, Succession Management is simple to implement. We want to show you how!

The process can be explained in just 4 steps:

1. Identify the key leadership/technical roles within the organization. These key roles are those the company cannot afford to leave vacant or under-employed. Any role mission critical to the future strategy should be included.
2. Identify the top talent in the organization. These can include high potentials (superstar performers), and experts (technical, scarce talent, or those with historical knowledge).
3. Assess your talent for competency. This step would include review of past performance and work history, evaluation of advancement potential, and an objective assessment of leadership competency. We also recommend evaluating the intensity of a potential successor’s desire to lead and the depth of their commitment to the vision and values of the organization.
4. Create and implement development plans for key talent. Some development activities might include training, special stretch assignments, participation in Executive Staff meetings, rotational assignments, and coaching.

With proactive succession management, organizations minimize risk and disruptions in the business. Succession management also makes transitions reasonably seamless and optimizes the opportunity for growth and legacy within the organization. Overall, planning for succession creates positive momentum in all parts of the business for decades into the future and leaves a legacy that endures.

Author: Diane Brown at TJ Associates LLC (Talent Journey). Copyright protected, all rights reserved worldwide.

Many NFL sports fans (especially those in San Diego) predicted that the Chargers would play in the Superbowl this month. They were, by all accounts, an extremely talented group, arguably among the most proficient in the NFL. Yet, their season ended prematurely in heart-wrenching defeat. Why?

LaDainian Tomlinson may have provided rich insight into one possible answer. He said that he didn’t feel “connected, as far as the team, the unity, the togetherness, family” this past season, and said many players were more about “me” than “faith, family, football.” Whether Tomlinson is expressing sour grapes or reality, his comments hit upon a potent point: talent ALONE is not enough to win the big game.

What is true in sport is also true in business. Although technical expertise, knowledge, and experience are critically important to organizational success, those things alone cannot sustain market share and customer loyalty. In today’s global and competitive economy, the “players” of an organization must be aligned around a core mission, set of values, and principles of behavior. This alignment is what Tomlinson was referring to in his comments about connectedness. Alignment, along with technical competency, composes the complete ingredients for success.

Each organization shapes its own alignment factors. In today’s workplace, prudent leaders carefully scrutinize a candidate’s ability to “fit” these unique alignment factors. Employers are at an advantage right now since many very skilled people are seeking employment. It is a prime time to ensure you make right selection decisions regarding both technical competency and the soft-skills alignment factors.
Increasingly organizations are turning to assessment tools to help predict performance success. Such tools provide organizations with objective and comprehensive information about hidden soft skill potential as it relates to job requirements.

Some of the information these assessments can provide include:
• Communication and problem solving style
• Reactions to conflict and stress
• Ability to manage problems and emotions
• Ability to influence
• Intensity of accountability and results orientation
• Motivational style, including preference for recognition and rewards
• Strengths in interpersonal, operational and strategic thinking

Studies indicate that a comprehensive and validated assessment tool increases your organization’s ability to predict “fit.” In fact, when a comprehensive assessment (including personality, motivation and competency) was compared to an unstructured interview alone: the assessment predicted performance 25 times better! (Scott Lighthouse in Industry and Organizational Psychology 1, 2008, pages 333-342.)

Utilization of assessments in the hiring process is without a doubt a prudent strategic decision. The important question becomes, “which one do you choose?” Before you can determine which assessment tool will meet your organizational needs, it is important to clearly define your objectives and implementation strategy. We have put together a few critical questions to consider when selecting an assessment tool:

1. What is the purpose of the assessment process? If you are using an assessment to improve performance predictability in hiring, make sure the instrument has been validated for selection.
2. What are you attempting to measure? If you are hiring for a lower level position, matching the right personality and motivational driver to the job might be sufficient. However, if you are selecting a technical expert and/or leader, you will also want to assess the candidate’s abilities against the soft-skill competencies required for that job. Compare the attributes being measured by the assessment against those required for the job and your critical alignment factors (mission, values, and principles of behavior).
3. What ongoing support will you receive? You want to look for vendors that will provide active ongoing support and will not simply administer the assessment and deliver the results. Although these both hold value, a trained professional in the assessment brings it all together and provides insight that comes from experience. So, once you have identified the best assessment tool, also choose a reliable and personable business partner.
4. How is the system priced? It is important to clearly understand the fee schedule as it relates to the manner in which you plan to use the test. Ask vendors to outline up-front fees for system design and configuration, as well as ongoing usage fees. Remember, the assessment tool is an investment that enables you to choose the absolute best candidate for your job, team and organization. It is similar to investing in maintenance of machinery or website optimization. Investments return increased productivity and profitability.

We see incredible opportunity for organizations to build teams and increase success this year. As the applicant pool is deep and rich, take time to search for candidates with strong organizational “fit”. Don’t settle for candidates based solely upon technical talent. Pursue those that also are emotionally intelligent, work collaboratively, and contribute innovative and creative ideas. Your organization deserves workers that are aligned and committed to your mission and culture. Utilizing a comprehensive assessment within your hiring process enhances your ability to make an objective and informed decision about candidate “fit” within your unique organization.

Author: Diane Brown at TJ Associates LLC (Talent Journey). Copyright protected, all rights reserved worldwide.