Promises made: How we mess up succession plans

The most common issue our mentors report executives in new positions face are team members who thought they were in line for the job, face with the disappointment of not getting the role and must be won over by their new boss. These folks can be an asset from their tribal knowledge, including an understanding of corporate politics that surpasses their new boss. Often, they are the biggest challenges in a new leader gaining alignment from their team. I’ve written before about managing this dilemma if you’re the person assuming the position of authority. Here is a link:

Passed over and pissed off

​How can companies avoid this problem? They can simply have leaders stop overpromising.
 
Let’s say you are a CXO. You have identified somebody in succession planning who could take your place someday. And in the process of developing them for a C-suite position, your message is, “This is to prepare you to take my place.” When you vacate your position through retirement, promotion or a job elsewhere, this individual assumes that your job becomes theirs. Instead, the position is posted, and an outsider gets the nod. What went wrong? The final decision on your replacement is seldom yours to make, but that part of your message didn’t get through.
 
The tough part for the company is that, as the outgoing leader, you may not have to live with the consequences of your miscommunication. You built loyalty and retained an effective employee with the promise of the keys to the kingdom. If that doesn’t play out, either the employee blames the company (no consequences to you) or believes you misled them (not your problem anymore.)
 
Succession-related individual development plans can be framed as having a goal of becoming ready to assume a senior role, in your company or elsewhere. There is no guarantee that readiness for a more senior role will match up with that position becoming available. Also, there may be more than one person on your team on a similar development path. This is desirable, if people understand the rules of the road.
 
The ideal situation is to have at least one internal candidate ready to assume your senior position, if you got hit by a bus. Of course, there is a risk that this candidate will get frustrated that a position hasn’t opened, and that they find a job outside the organization. That is a better outcome than you leaving, the internal candidate failing to get the job and the new leader trying to retain a disillusioned and possibly disruptive team member for fear of the loss of tribal knowledge. In fact, having a reputation as a developer of leaders is an enormous calling card in recruitment.
 
Let’s take this a step further. A leader’s responsibility is to make themselves replaceable. If your developing leader is ready to assume your role, an organizational design exercise might identify part of your responsibilities that can be transferred to them. This may allow you to take on higher-level responsibilities that have only been aspirational before. Further still, the company might decide that the time is right to plan a transition to a younger, less expensive leader. You take the risk of getting replaced, just like the company takes the risk that its investment in an employee's professional growth will be another company's gain. Taking this risk is the acid test of your personal brand or the company's employer brand. It's why people will want to work for you.

When you consider your legacy, don't leave your successor with a mess of your creation; they'll face enough challenges without your "help." Develop those who work for you, so they can become leaders wherever their paths lead. .Be careful about overpromising those in your succession plans. They'll likely be disappointed if they don't get your job regardless; it is significantly more serious if they had reason to believe their ascension was a slam dunk. 

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