Real succession planning

Chief Executive, The, June, 2004 by James D. Hobbs

Congratulations on your April supplement, CEO Insights ("Succession Management: Filling the Leadership Pipeline"). A superb article on an always timely subject, it reminded me of several experiences, including one in which my yearlong (and admittedly narrow-scoped) preparation of a successor "slid away" just six weeks prior to my scheduled departure.

Years later, small to midsize firms where the CEO or owner was preparing to step down would hire me as a consultant on succession planning, usually only a few months before the retirement date.

In some ways, early 20th-century business leaders may have been better skilled in this area than CEOs are today. Back then, succession management was seen as a key ingredient in the job expectations of CEOs. General Motors' Alfred Sloan was keenly aware of the need to identify leadership skills and structure a corporate environment that fostered leadership development. Sloan himself, however, refrained from choosing his own successor, realizing that a leader must be acceptable to the organization's management.

Ideally, a company should consider all of its employees as high-potential leadership candidates and provide them with sufficient opportunities for learning and development so they can define their own career limits.

Without proper succession planning, none of the so-called broad-based and high-potential leadership programs will amount to anything more than fraternities of like-minded individuals.

James D. Hobbs

Founder

Vidda Business Consulting

Marietta, Ga.