Here’s an alarming reality about succession pipelines:
- 7% of companies believe they are ‘excellent’ at building Millennial leaders1
- 13% of companies report they are ‘excellent’ at building global leaders1
- 14% of companies describe themselves as ‘strong’ at succession planning1
Your Baby Boomers are moving out of your upper ranks. These numbers prove you are likely unsure of how to effectively prepare new leaders to take their spot.
What can be done, you ask? Here are 3 steps you need to take NOW to stay ahead of the rising leadership gap and create a robust succession pipeline.
1. Analyze your employee retention rate and determine one thing you can do to strengthen it.
Are you paying attention to this number on a consistent basis? It’s an employee market out there. Even happy and satisfied employees are jumping ship. Why? Because opportunities abound!
Avoid losing the employees who are prime candidates for your future leadership openings. Brush up on the key drivers that prompt employees to quit. In addition, use this information to carefully look at your culture, incentives, and career development strategies. Then put your first step into motion in order to make your company stronger in this competitive talent market.
2. Discover what leadership skills are mission critical for your succession pipeline.
Before you can groom your rising leaders, you need to understand what you are grooming them for. Do you need innovators and visionaries? Do you need great people developers? Look at current leaders who are eligible for retirement in the next five years. Next, determine what leadership skills they possess that you’ll be devastated to lose. Recognizing these potential gaps puts you in the best place to actively build the right skills in your up-and-coming talent.
3. Take a chance on a high-potential employee. Then be okay with it taking many tries before they succeed.
The research is clear that the most impactful learnings come through real-life stretch assignments. These assignments create risk, which encourages employees to grow. Consider your high-potentials. Who can you ask to step into a leadership role on a project? Who would benefit from exposure to different divisions in your company?
Your employees crave development opportunities. Tapping them for stretch assignments is a great way to do this. Furthermore, remember to provide sufficient support for employees during the project. Emphasize that mistakes are an opportunity to learn.
What is the future state you desire for your rising leaders? Do you have a plan to get there?
Investing in developing your current talent has a ripple effect. Our eBook, Save Your Succession Pipeline, explores how your company can retain, leverage, and empower current and emerging talent. To meet your future business demands, get your copy here!
1 Global Human Capital Trends, Deloitte University Press
