How involved should senior leaders be in their own succession?

How involved should retiring senior leaders be in their own succession process?

The question is simple, but its answer depends on a unique set of factors that vary by the organization, the individual and their exact succession plan. At minimum, we believe retiring leaders should have some degree of involvement in training their successors, but not always in finding them.

In this article, we share advice for discussing succession in your organization, creating a strategic succession plan for aging leaders and how to best task these individuals with finding/training their successors.

How to talk about succession:

When your organization has reached a point where retirement of one or more senior leaders is inevitable, it’s time to brief your team. In fact, it’s often a good idea to let your entire organization know about any potential leaders’ departures years ahead of time. This is because the topic of succession can be awkward for both the leaders themselves and the organization at large. However, this feeling is magnified when an official announcement catches your team off guard. It’s important to open lines of communication early and make everyone aware of the possibility that senior team members are nearing retirement and that a succession plan may go into effect.

The golden rule for succession planning:

Start early.

It may feel unnatural to have detailed discussions about succession too far ahead of time, but it’s important to at least touch on the idea and understand its inevitability. This preparedness will come in handy in one of two ways:

• Members of your organization, even those outside of the succession plan itself, will anticipate high-level departures and begin planning in their own departments for when the day comes.
• Your organization can passively recruit and/or train team members who may one day be positioned to take over for a departing senior leader.

We’ve never heard a leadership team say they planned too far ahead for a succession, but we’ve heard plenty say they are grateful for starting the process years in advance.

How to best leverage your departing team members:

So, when the day comes, how involved should retiring team members be in their own succession?

Senior leaders are the most qualified trainers your organization will have to bring successors up to speed in their new role. These individuals have years of technical experience, but they also take a thoughtful approach in explaining facets of the role that may not be included in its traditional job description. This is why, if your departing team member is willing and able, we recommend utilizing them as much as possible during their successor’s onboarding process.

Organizations often hire internal candidates as successors, but, if your company is making an external hire, many factors contribute to whether the departing team member should be involved.

In some instances, these individuals will have the best eye for talent in their respective functions; they know the job inside and out and have worked with a wide enough variety of personalities to understand who will do well in their shoes. On the other hand, the senior leadership team may have a different vision for the role and seek a different kind of talent.

Some companies will have departing team members advise during the hiring process but will utilize a human resources leader or third-party hiring partner to help make objective hiring decisions. We recommend this approach if your organization anticipates a major overhaul of the role at hand.

The takeaway:

It’s crucial for organizations to initiate early discussions about succession, allowing ample time for preparation and to make a hiring and onboarding plan.

In our experience, senior leaders bring immense value in finding and training their successors, but their level of involvement should be tailored based on organizational needs and their own willingness to contribute.

To learn more about succession planning and/or senior leadership hiring, contact Eric Spell at eric.spell@charlesaris.com or (336) 217-9116.