Management Information |
Succession Planning? ... Not on My Watch!
At first blush, it would appear there is no shortage of Succession Planning Advocates convinced in theory, the importance and benefits of corporate Succession Planning. In practice, however, real succession planning - or the overt lack thereof - runs juxtaposed to principle. The important question then is, "Why?" In November 2002 I wrote an article *The Art of Succession Planning in which the argument in favor of a detailed Succession Plan was put to rest. Clearly, the advantage of proper planning is no argument at all. But try telling that to some company owners or today's high caliber CEOs. Those who rise to power, especially in large organizations, do so because they possess what's known as, the Royal Jelly. Most are born leaders with unlimited high energy, charisma and an innate psychological need to win, control and dominate. Although it would be easy for some to cast aspersions on such a profile, the fact is, these attributes are the stuff integral to power and for most of us, what we admire in our leaders. Would it surprise anyone then, if those, predisposed to leadership and control, may find discomfort in succession planning? Simply said, any plan for succession, is a blueprint for the [call it anything you want] inevitable loss of power, control and prestige they worked so long and hard to achieve. After all, in the mind of a new CEO: They're going to be there forever?and/or ? If they leave, it will be by their choosing. No leader is perfect. They make mistakes. For them, the last thing they need is the added pressure of a motivated Heir Apparent waiting in the wings with a blueprint for a much anticipated and inevitable transition to power. Reining CEOs are not sacrosanct from the ambitions of the Would-be-Kings. The net result? No Succession plan. Where there's a Will? There's a Relative! Wish if we could that each successive generation spawn greater leaders than the last. Successful family-owned and operated companies face succession challenges on two fronts. Not every child of a great leader is blessed with the Royal Jelly. [Teddy Kennedy spring to mind?] More often the next generation, either because of, or despite having lived a life of privilege, find themselves bereft of the right stuff and unequipped to lead. A good model for this is the British Monarchy. [Hang in there Lizzy!] Succession planning for family-owned businesses can further be compromised when there are heir apparents from competing families. The right family heir to run the company may not [politically] be next in line and therefore succession planning is often avoided at all costs in order to circumvent a potentially divisive situation. Who will forget the bitter battle of two brothers for the McCain family frozen food empire? Beware the Motivations of the Succession Planning Architect! In ancient Rome, the Emperor Tiberius appointed Caligula to be his successor. A magnanimous gesture to say the least but not the real reason for his choice. Tiberius was more concerned about his legacy - fueled mostly by an unusually large ego. By appointing Caligula, it was his hope the people of Rome would grow to hate the new ruler, to see him as the miscreant he was. They did. In so doing and at the expense of the Roman people, Tiberius believed he had done himself a great service by indemnifying an unquestioned personal legacy of benevolence and superior leadership. Tiberius, however, didn't corner the market on self-serving succession planning. For more contemporary examples we need only look at the current Prime Minister of Canada, The Right [Honorable?] Jean Chrétien and his now agonizing Long Good-Bye. Regardless of whether one voted for him or not, in a democratic society, the rein of any leader must eventually come to an end either by popular vote or for the good of the people. For dominant leaders, it is understood that stepping down is never an easy decision to make or to do. That said, the political winds of change are not all that transparent and it's not unexpected for, in this case, Canadians, to count on a certain respectability or professionalism from their leader in the transition process. Sadly, the Prime Minister serves today as the quintessential example of bad Succession Planning. Newspaper headlines that clearly point out a now Lame-Duck-Leader whose agenda for the next year is bent solely on a self-serving legacy at the expense of his own party and the country as a whole, should, but hasn't, deterred him. For example, few would argue the need for stricter environmental guidelines but what other than his legacy is served by forcing the thinly veiled K.Y.O.T.O. bill through parliament when even his own cabinet find flaws in it and the need for further debate. Moreover, Liberals and Conservatives alike openly agree; smiting his nemesis and obvious successor, Paul Martin, by first forcing him out of his cabinet post and then changing the rules for corporate sponsorship where it impedes Mr Martin the most, is nothing short of vindictive. In fact, limiting financial corporate sponsorship and then funding future elections with taxpayer's money, I, as a taxpayer, could find it laughable if it were not so egregiously repugnant. Who benefits? Canadians? His Legacy? His ego? ...How Tiberiunesque! Bad Succession Planning! Bottom Line: Succession Planning is an integral part of what binds and brings balance to business, politics and even our personal lives. Like most disciplines, it's not as easy as it sounds. Nevertheless, like death and taxes, it is unavoidable and will come one day on our watch. What still remains our choice is how we handle it when it's our time? That too will reflect in our legacy. * For a copy of the article *The Art of Succession Planning send an email request to paul@success150.com About The Author Paul Shearstone aka The 'Pragmatic Persuasionist' is one of North America's foremost experts on Sales and Persuasion. An International Keynote Speaker, Author, Writer, Motivation, Corporate Ethics, / Time & Stress Management Specialist, Paul enlightens and challenges audiences as he informs, motivates and entertains. To comment on this article or to book the Pragmatic Persuasionist for your next successful event we invite to contact Paul Shearstone directly @ 416-728-5556 or 1-866-855-4590 www.success150.com or paul@success150.com.
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Invite Self-Managed Staff "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being." -GoetheTwo hundred years ago, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, German poet and philosopher, knew how to inspire and interact with others: recognize the best in them and act upon those positive expectations. Diversity Training: The Worst Possible Reasons to Request Executive Funding You're on your organization's diversity committee. You have the best of intentions. Stop Waste, Fraud and Abuse Each year, businesses write-off six percent of revenue to waste, fraud and abuse. But why would managers throw all that hard-earned money away when there is a reliable way to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse using accounting policies & procedures to create internal controls. Managing Change in the Workplace Change is exhilarating. Change is terrifying. Executive Performance -- Whos to Blame for Incompetent Managers? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal raised the question: Who's to blame for inept managers?The answer, of course, is the superiors who hire or promote them -- but not because they intentionally select or retain poor performers. Every leader knows that his or her own success depends on putting the right people in the right positions. Management to the Vision-Contribution and the Role of Compliance As a manager our role is to:1. Establish the vision, or our contribution to the vision. Time-Wasting Problems - One Question to Move You Forward In any organisation, progress is frequently impaired by the time taken up to resolve problems that occur again and again - usually with people's performance (or not!). At a macro level, there could just seem to be 'lots of problems', which is a symptom in itself. How Managers Can Help Retain Their Best Employees A major problem for employers today is attracting the best talent, and then retaining key employees. Research shows that the key ingredient for retention lies within the manager's ability to understand what employees really want. Towards Intercultural Understanding An individual's ability to forge effective relationships across cultures is influenced by a very personal and highly complex mixture of emotional and cognitive processes. Anyone contemplating an overseas posting feels apprehensive about stepping into the unknown. The New Economy This technological revolution has organization, efficiency and productivity requirements well above what was needed in the past. And although all three of these have always been important, they are now considered crucial in the growth and maintenance of businesses worldwide. Help for the Meeting-Weary Manager Most of us have found ourselves working on a team at one time or another. That means we have been asked to attend, and even participate, in lots of meetings. Managing People - No One Shows You What To Do Imagine the following scenario - you pay a visit to yourdoctor one day and in the course of the conversation he orshe lets it slip that they have no formal medicalqualification. However, everything's okay because they'vebeen involved in the "doctoring" business for years, hadlots of experience and have read several books on thesubject; I bet you'd be out of there like a shot. To Meet or Not to Meet - What are the Questions? Meetings can be a total waste of time or a powerful and productive communication tool that solve problems, stimulate ideas, promote team spirit and generate action. The results lie totally in how they are run. Einstein, The Universe, And Leadership Every since serving a hitch in the military, I have been nagged by the question that's been hanging around leadership since time immemorial: How can some leaders persuade people to believe in them and follow them and other leaders can't? But it wasn't the military that provided me with a framework to answer that question. It was Albert Einstein and his quest for the unified field theory of the universe. Managing Meetings Plan/prepare - lack of purpose causes aimless meetings. Know why you're there - what the meeting is for. Are Your Marketing Pieces Up to Date? The other day someone asked me for one of my informational brochures. As I was giving her the piece I stated that if I were printing these today it would be a little different. Creative People, Innovative People The title implies that some people are and others not.This is a myth. Innovation Management - Time to Market or Time to Success? Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Small Business Outsourcing: An Introduction Outsourcing is the delegation of a business process to an external service provider. The service provider will then be responsible for the day-to-day running and maintenance of the delegated process. The Narcissist in the Workplace To a narcissist-employer, the members of his "staff" are Secondary Sources of Narcissistic Supply. Their role is to accumulate the supply (in human speak, remember events that support the grandiose self-image of the narcissist) and to regulate the Narcissistic Supply of the narcissist during dry spells (simply put, to adulate, adore, admire, agree, provide attention and approval and so on or, in other words, be an audience). |
home | site map | contact us |