Succession Planning
Developing Talent
Planning for Today and Tomorrow
Presented by: Ranjit Nair
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What is Succession Planning?
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Having the right people in the right place at the right
time
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An ongoing process of identifying and developing
talent as well as future leaders
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An opportunity to create standards for qualifications
and competencies for future leaders
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Providing understanding to members of the potential
developmental/leadership paths available as well as
development needs
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Why is Succession Planning Important?
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Building the Talent for the Future
Organizational Readiness
Developing the Incumbents
Assessing Potential
Developing Leaders
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The Drivers
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Public Schools have become larger, more
complex, and more challenging to manage
Fragmented staff with different and varying
level of skills, experience, backgrounds,
functions
Heightened focus on student achievement
Demand for more scrutiny
As school districts increase in size, intricacy, and accountability,
they must invest more in the human capital that drives almost all
of the services they deliver.
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Others Perspectives
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Succession planning goes beyond the basic question of selecting
replacements for positions – “Replacement Planning”)
Whereas replacement planning finds backups to fill vacancies on
an organizational chart, succession planning grooms talent for the
future.
Succession planning should encompass a dialogue about
leadership in the public school district-what characteristics define
it, who displays it, who has the potential to display it, and how to
transition from the former to the latter.
The planning should elicit the opinions of all stakeholders in the
district. It should inspire a culture of vision and motivation that
aligns with the district's strategic objectives and that infuses the
work of all school officials.
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8 Steps to Effective Succession Planning
Be Purpose
Driven (1)
(Re)Assess
Program (8)
Develop
Individual
Plans (7)
Plan for
Future (2)
Succession
Planning
Assess Current
Needs (3)
Conduct Effective
Assessments (4)
Fill in the
Gaps (6)
Assess
Mobility (5)
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Step 1: Define Purpose
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Invest in planning and setting the stage.
Articulate the purpose, goals, and expectations
of succession planning
Write a mission statement that captures the
urgency of succession planning.
Ensure that stakeholder groups, such as the
current leadership team are on board
Firmly establish expectations about process
duration and intensity
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Step 2: Plan for the Future
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The succession planning (SP) process should not be
designed to address today's organizational challenges,
but those of the future – the needs of an evolving
organization.
SP should be deliberately proactive (growing the
district's talent pool.)
It should be used a process for reflecting on the district's
future.
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endogenous factors (organizational changes, board priorities,
curricular approaches, decentralization, etc.)
exogenous factors (demographics, economy, state and federal
legislature, etc.)
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Step 3: Assess Current Leadership Needs
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Examine the role of leadership in enacting the vision.
Assess the characteristics necessary for leadership in the district.
Build a "leadership code" that explains leadership characteristics and
behaviors that drive success in the district.
Certain skills should transcend an organization and unite all of its
leaders by using a "leadership code" - a consolidated viewpoint of
what matters as leaders progress up the organization.
For example, Jim Collins' popular "Good to Great" model traces a
progression from capable management, the ability to make productive
contributions, through effective leadership, the vigorous pursuit of a
clear and compelling vision, and, finally, to enduring executive
(Principal; Asst. Principal) greatness.
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Leadership Hierarchy
Level 5
Executive
Builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical
combination of personal humility plus professional will.
Level 4
Effective Leader
Catalyzes commitment to and vigorous pursuit of a clear and
compelling vision; stimulates the group to high performance standards.
Level 3
Competent Manager
Organizes people and resources toward the effective
and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives.
Level 2
Contributing Team Member
Contributes to the achievement of group objectives;
works effectively with others in a group setting.
Level 1
Highly Capable Individual
Makes productive contributions through talent,
knowledge, skills, and good work habits.
Source: Jim Collins; Good to Great
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Long term
Leadership Hierarchy – What Characteristics
Matter in your District? (Sample)
Vision, Strategy,
Systems Thinking
Leaders need to
demonstrate these
qualities to be effective
in our district
Short term
Ability to Prioritize
Ability to allocate resources
Process-centric
Measurement-focus
Brilliant Communicator
Gains “Buy-in”
Subject Matter Expertise
Team Player
Good Communicator
Customer Service Orientation
Proactive Problem Solver
Results Oriented
Delivers against high expectations
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Step 4: Conduct Effective Assessments
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Ensure open and honest feedback about an emerging leader's
performance.
Without an honest discourse about an individual's strengths and
weaknesses, proactive development opportunities cannot be
deliberately pursued.
A district should evaluate its current and emerging leaders against its
leadership code through development and use of a formal evaluation
rubric.
To provide a relative view of these emerging leaders, districts can
evaluate leadership candidates on a matrix that serves as a function
of both past performance and future potential.
One purpose of such a matrix is to identify the district's "highpotential" leaders, commonly referred to as “HiPo's".
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Understanding your District’s HIPO Leaders
The Performance-Potential Grid
Performance
HIGH
Workhorse or
Keepers
Stars or
Growers
Underperformer
or Deadwood
Question
Marks
Future Potential
LOW
HIGH
How can we move people between groups?
Where do the non-performers fit in the organization? Should they be forced out?
Are our resources allocated properly?
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Understanding your District’s HIPO Leaders
The Talent Matrix
Doing the Right Things
“Diamond in the
rough”
- Loose Cannon
- Problem Child
“Future Utility
Player”
“Future Allround Star”
“Future Utility
Player”
Solid Citizen
Solid in Role
“Take Action Now”
Not developing
Not competent
No potential
In wrong job
Move out
“Future Pro”
Still Developing
Not yet exceptional in role
Has potential to improve
Monitor development
“Consistent Star”
Fully Developed
Excellent in role
Need new opportunities
“Utility Pro”
Fully Competent in Role
Still Developing
Nearly ready for more
responsibility
“Technical Pro”
Fully competent in role
Reached potential
Getting the Right Results
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Step 5: Assess Mobility
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Further analysis is needed to evaluate the district's "bench strength"
and leadership mobility within the organization.
Districts should force themselves to complete a deep bench strength
analysis, which yields measures concerning the depth of leadership
talent within the organization.
Compute this measure by listing potential successors for each major
position and assigning successors a ranking to denote:
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Level 1-Successor ready to lead within one year
Level 2-Successor ready in one to two years
Level 3-No successor ready within a five-year period
A Level 3 ranking presents an organizational "hole." The lower the
percentage of holes relative to key positions, the greater the
organization's bench strength.
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Step 5: Assess Mobility
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The basic bench strength measure serves as a foundation on
which to calculate several other metrics of an organization's
human capital inventory, such as:
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Average number of candidates "ready now" for key positions
Number of vacant key positions
Percentage of positions open without "ready now" candidates
Total number of high-potential leaders in the succession pool per key position
Armed with this data, districts can make targeted investment in
readying internal candidates or proactively recruiting external
candidates where succession risk is present.
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Step 6: Fill in the Gaps
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Each participant in leadership training programs should be the subject
of an individualized development plan (an "IDP").
The plan should ask such questions as:
 For what key position should this person be prepared?
 What kinds of competencies should be developed?
 What are the individual's career objectives?
 What learning objectives should guide the individual's development?
 By what methods or strategies may the objectives be met?
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Generally, the most productive lever for leadership development is
on-the-job opportunities that widen the scope, increase the depth, and
vary the routine of responsibilities.
Examples of assignments that satisfy these three areas could take
the form of re-launching or revamping a failing service, launching a
new service, managing a turnaround situation, handling a rapidly
expanding service, preparing a strategic proposal for leadership
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Step 6: Fill in the Gaps
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In addition to on-the-job opportunities, organizations may be able
to invest in expert leadership coaching and mentoring with good
results.
Through a "360 degree" evaluation, expert coaches help leaders
to understand all their areas of strength and weakness and to
grow their emotional intelligence.
Best practice coaching structures follow a sequence of enrolling
the individual, building a relationship, fact-finding based on
existing and new assessment data, collaborating to create a
development plan, coaching to the development plan, evaluating
the process relative to stated objectives, and planning next steps.
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Step 7: Develop Individual Transition Plans
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To facilitate a smooth transition, districts should structure plans
that outline the process of orienting new leaders.
Transition plans have been used by new superintendents for
some time, but enormous variance exists in design and approach
Transition plans can be applied to a broad variety of senior
leadership positions
The product is a results-oriented plan around specific desired
outcomes in managerial and organizational performance and
district accomplishment. E.g.:
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“Goals-based” – a new superintendent reads, "Develop a plan to decentralize
the organizational structure in order to be more responsive to the needs of
principals, schools and the public."
“Activities-based approach" - focuses on what the new leader will do, but
does little to focus the leader on why they are doing it.
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Step 8: (Re) Assess the Program
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Succession planning is a fluid and continual process, subject to
regular assessment and adjustment.
Evaluation should signify bench strength by measuring the
number of well-qualified internal candidates for each key position,
the record of promotions, and the retention of high performers.
Evaluation should also capture more subjective human capital
metrics, including the perceptions of fairness, transparency,
morale, confidence, and competence.
Ultimately, a successful succession planning program will be a
tailored, systematic, and clear process that enjoys dedicated
organizational support and that emphasizes long-term leadership
development.
Best practice is to do a “Succession Planning” immediately after
performance evaluations and then conduct a follow-up session to
gauge progress against actions generated
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Circle of Leadership
Make Commitment to
Leadership Continuity
Evaluate &
Reward
Identify & Develop
Individual Talent
Assess the
Present
Assess the Future
Needs
Establish a Succession
Planning Program
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Succession Planning is a Process
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The purpose and need for succession
planning
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Timeframe and commitment involved
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Resources available
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Vision and mission
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How it will support the strategic plan of the
association
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Pitfalls to Avoid
Lack of leadership
 Lack of communication
 Lack of transparency
 Lack of understanding
 Making assumptions about future
growth
 Lack of follow up
 Not institutionalized
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Mentoring – a Cousin of SP
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What is it?
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Structured, trusting relationship
What do mentors do?
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Provide individuals with
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Support
Counsel
Friendship
Reinforcement
Constructive Example
Are good listeners who want to help individuals
develop
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Thank you!
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Ranjit Nair
C (512) 497 4331
Emails:
rnjnair@yahoo.com
leadershipstartshere@gmail.com
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