Ensuring Leadership Continuity

“When mentorship flows from old to young, young to old and laterally, years of knowledge, expertise and diverse views are captured and shared across all generational cohorts in the workplace.”

~Allan J. Moore

Impending retirements amongst ageing, senior leadership combined with dramatically lower numbers of younger and qualified employees to replace them, necessitates that organizations have succession plans in place to ensure leadership continuity and employee development at all levels (Barnett, 2008; Groves, 2007, Rothwell, 2010). The urgency of this need was highlighted in the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) publication Looking-Ahead: A 10- Year Outlook for the Canadian Labour Market (2008-2017): In the 1970s, fewer than one Canadian in seven was between the ages of 50 and 64. In 2007, nearly one in five Canadians belonged to this age cohort. It goes without saying that this shift will have major consequences for the labour market when the baby boom generation (born between 1947 and 1966), which represented 30% of the Canadian population in 2007, begins to reach retirement age in the coming years. This will generate a large number of job openings as a result of the need to replace these workers. (Lapointe et al., 2008, pp. 10-11). To address this imminent threat to leadership continuity in current Canadian workplaces, the following two practices should be adopted by organizations as a starting point in developing a leadership succession plan.

Practice 1: Define competencies and desired traits for leadership positions.

Stoddard and Wyckoff (2009) argue the importance of selecting people who have the right “character and innate capabilities” (p. 32) to lead and not just those who are in the right place at the right time or have the most years in with the company. Selecting leaders with the desired competencies and traits plays a significant role in a leader’s effectiveness and ability to influence people to willingly support and follow them (Dewan & Myatt, 2008; Judge et al., 2009; Zaccaro, 2007). Although certain competencies and traits may be desirable in leadership selection, Zaccaro (2007) cautions that leaders may be suitable to one situation, but not to others that may require “very different knowledge and technical skill sets” (p. 9). This could certainly be true at many different organizations given the multiple disciplines involved and varying personalities, knowledge and skill levels present within different groups. In light of this limitation, organizations will need to not only define what overarching competencies and traits are desired for leadership positions from the broader perspective but then have a more detailed approach to account for the “situational variance” (Sternberg & Vroom, 2002) inherent in each group. Rothwell (2010) presents the following activities that organizations can adopt to figure out which competencies and traits might be most suitable for soon-to-be vacant leadership positions:

1. Break down each leadership position into their key tasks to identify what competencies are required to perform these jobs (Rothwell, 2010).
2. Analyze each of these tasks to determine the underlying leadership characteristics such as “motives, traits, skills, self-image, social roles, or bodies of knowledge” (Rothwell, 2010, p. 208) needed to work in these positions.
3. Perform a “future competency study” (Rothwell, 2010, p. 84) to answer the following questions:
4. “What results will the organization seek in the future” (p. 84)?
5. “Why will those results be sought” (p. 84)?

iii. “What competencies are necessary to realize those results” (p. 84)?

Regardless of what additional competencies and traits will be identified during the data gathering activities outlined, organizations should ensure potential future leaders are assessed according to the following criteria put forth by Rogers and Smith (2004):

Leader Promise

• Propensity to lead — “A person who shows certain inherent abilities to lead others” (p. 53).
• Brings out the best in people — “the innate ability to make everyone around them better” (p. 53).
• Authenticity — “encompasses integrity, which in turn fosters trust” (p. 54).

Personal Development Orientation

• Receptivity to feedback — “Leaders who are open to feedback welcome constructive criticism because they want to learn from it” (p. 55)
• Learning agility — “They see themselves as continuously evolving and are constantly looking to improve” (p. 55).

Mastery of Complexity

• Adaptability — “reflects a person’s skill at juggling competing demands and adjusts smoothly to new situations and people” (p. 56).
• Conceptual thinking — “visualizes the possibilities without getting bogged down in excessive detail” (p. 56).
• Navigates ambiguity — “enables people to simplify complex issues and make decisions without having all the facts” (p. 56).

Balance of Values and Results

• Culture fit — describes how well the person’s “behavior and personal style complement the existing work culture” (p. 57).
• Passion for results — “a desire to overcome obstacles and get things done” (p. 57).

Apart from these recommended selection methods, Stoddard and Wyckoff (2009) stress the importance of consulting the direct reports of these future leaders to gather valuable information on what competencies and traits they would like to see in their future leaders. These are the “people who know the most CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT / INSTITUT CANADIEN DE GESTION Summer 2018 25 about what needs to be done by the new leader to deliver the desired results” (p. 15). Once an organization has selected their list of candidates for leadership succession, they may begin the second step of preparing these candidates through a mentorship program that pairs them with experienced employees who can provide them with the guidance they need to successfully assume leadership positions when they become available. The following second practice explores a formal mentorship program organizations can consider to compliment any existing informal mentorship practices.

Practice 2: Set up a formal mentorship program.

The second step in developing a leadership succession plan involves establishing a two[1]part mentorship program featuring (a) group mentoring and (b) one-on-one mentoring. The group mentoring will consist of internal subject matter experts in disciplines pertinent to leadership collaborating with employees interested in occupying leadership positions in the future. The one-on-one mentoring will involve the current leaders providing mentorship to the top, identified candidate for succeeding their position. As leaders themselves may not be able to provide their subordinates with expert guidance on each and every leadership competency, internal subject matter experts in disciplines such as finance, marketing, project management, leadership and other areas associated with leadership positions, would be identified and made available to any employees interested in future leadership positions. This process could take place through the “Strategic Collaboration Model” (Washburn & Crispo, p. 4). The Strategic Collaboration Model (SCM) is a “succession management model that incorporates mentoring as an essential mechanism in fostering leadership development and succession” (Haynes & Ghosh, 2008, p. 3). The SCM features a non[1]hierarchal, egalitarian approach that allows mentors and protégés to exchange roles as the situation requires (Haynes & Ghosh, 2008). Since junior employees do not need to be selected by senior employees to attend SCM meetings, this may lessen any perceived discrimination or favoritism. Diversity and Inclusion teams could be set up in organizations to facilitate these SCM meetings to guide participants through “4 D Cycle” (Cooperrider, Whitney & Stavros, 2008, p. 101) as they pertain to the SCM. Washburn and Crispo (2006) describe these four phases below:

“Discovery (Initiate)” (p. 21)

• SCM meeting participants identify positive attributes of the organization and stories of success. The group then focuses on the causes of success and how these can be built on moving forward.

“Dream (Inquire)” (p. 21)

• Participants analyze the positive stories and attributes to identify common themes and patterns that can be used to construct a vision of an improved organization. From these themes, they are asked to imagine a future that is grounded in these experiences in excellence…a future that is achievable (p. 21)

“Design (Imagine)” (p. 21)

• Participants then “develop new initiatives to leverage strengths identified in the dream stage” (p. 21). Proposed initiatives are evaluated for their feasibility.

“Delivery (Innovate)” (p. 21)

• This last stage focuses on participants developing action plans to address personal and organizational goals.

This SCM process would provide leaders with insight into which employees are interested in leadership positions and have the aptitude for future leadership. Once leaders identify their top, individual successors, they can then implement “Individual Development Plans” (Rothwell, 2010, p. 235). Rothwell (2010) describes an Individual Development Plan as: An individual development plan (IDP) results from a comparison of individual strengths and weaknesses on the current job and individual potential for advancement to possible key positions in the future. Preparing an IDP is a process of planning activities that will narrow the gap between what individuals can already do and what they should do to meet future work or competency requirements in one or more key positions. (p. 235) In order for an effective IDP to be implemented, senior leadership must emphasize the importance of leaders getting together with their successors to conduct meaningful, quarterly and annual reviews where actions connected with the successors’ IDP are set and followed up on to track progress towards stated goals. By sharing knowledge, helping each other, and being exposed to new perspectives, the different generations participating in these mentoring activities can engage in a dialogue to gain a better understanding of how generational diversity can benefit organizations (Washburn & Crispo, 2006). Clapp (2010) supported this position reasoning that when mentorship flows from old to young, young to old and laterally, years of knowledge, expertise and diverse views are captured and shared across all generational cohorts in the workplace. These two practices will form a starting point for organizations to engage in an iterative process to continually improve their leadership succession plan.

REFERENCES:

Barnett, R. & Davis, S. (2008). Creating greater success in succession planning. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(5), 721-739. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1523422308322277

Cooperrider, D. L., Whitney, D. K., & Stavros, J. M. (2008). Appreciative Inquiry Handbook: For Leaders of Change. Brunswick, OH: Berrett-Koehler.

Dewan, T., & Myatt, D. P. (2008). The qualities of leadership: Direction, communication, and obfuscation. American Political Science Review, 102(03), 351-368.

Ghosh, R., & Reio, T. G. (2013). Career benefits associated with mentoring for mentors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(1), 106-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. jvb.2013.03.011

Groves, K.S. (2007). Integrating leadership development and succession planning best practices. Journal of Management Development, 26(3). http://dx.doi. org/10.1108/02621710710732146

Haynes, R. K., & Ghosh, R. (2008). Mentoring and succession management: An evaluative approach to the strategic collaboration model. Review of Business, 28(2), 3.

Judge, T. A., Piccolo, R. F., & Kosalka, T. (2009). The bright and dark sides of leader traits: A review and theoretical extension of the leader trait paradigm. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(6), 855-875. http://m.timothyjudge.com/documents/Thebrightanddarksidesofleadertraits.pdf

Lapointe, M. et al, (2008). Human resources and skills development Canada looking[1]ahead: A 10-year outlook for the Canadian labour market (2008-2017)(Report No. SP-615-11- 08E). Retrieved from http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/publications_resources/research/index.shtml

Rogers, R. W., & Smith, A. B. (2004). Spotting executive potential and future senior leaders. Employment Relations Today, 31(1), 51-60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ert.20006

Rothwell, W. J. (2010). Effective succession planning: Ensuring leadership continuity and building talent from within. New York: AMACOM.

Sternberg, R. J., & Vroom, V. (2002). The person versus the situation in leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(3), 301-323. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(02)00101-7

Stoddard, N., & Wyckoff, C. (2009). The right leader: Selecting executives who fit. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.