As we continue to delve into the intricacies of successful succession planning, as outlined here in our whitepaper, Per Ardua Associates and Pantheon Leadership held a series of events talking with business leaders in financial services on themes to support and shape the leaders of tomorrow.
Thank you to all our guests. below we have listed insights and themes that emerged from these engaging sessions.
Identifying All Potential
Identifying the future leader for each business is different; aligning expectations to development, as well as assessing for potential is good practice.
The future leader is likely to demonstrate excellence in judgment, ambition, emotional and social skills, agility and curiosity. These attributes are foundational, but what else will be essential for future enterprise leaders to navigate the evolving landscape? It is important to ask which current traits might become obsolete and what new competencies will emerge for each specific organisation to deliver their strategy, particularly with the emergence of digital and AI strategies which will change future leadership demands.
A combination of intuition and internal perspective of performance, tied into objective data in assessments, provides a comprehensive view of a candidate’s senior leadership potential. This approach ensures that internal decision making is both efficient and holistic; that bias is mitigated and potential from all backgrounds and diversity is treated equally.
Linkage to Remuneration and Performance
Efficient succession planning is closely tied to remuneration, performance management, and the development of identified successors. Setting and managing expectations is critical. In this process, ensuring clear pathways for aspiring leaders to achieve their goals while balancing the capacity of the organisation to hold, and to maintain, simultaneous benches of potential. This is felt especially keenly in lean and smaller organisations: in these cases, also establishing an external parallel potential talent pool is essential. The importance of referencing in external candidate pools cannot be overstated. It ensures that the right talent is brought into the organisation, enhancing the succession pipeline.
Understanding Individual Aspirations
Placing value on candidates’ individual aspirations and understanding them (and how priorities change) is key to identifying those with potential, and those with both potential and aspiration. Holding regular development sessions in timebound sprints helps to refresh goals and ensure continuous progression while continuing to challenge those with high ambition.
Role of Ego, Complacency and the Need for Robust Dialogue
Ego and complacency, particularly at senior levels, can significantly hinder succession conversations. A mindset shift is required to overcome these barriers, understanding that current roles will evolve and progress can only happen if everyone moves forward together. Shifting from a reactive approach to a future-led proactive one is crucial. This involves anticipating and updating future needs and preparing successors to step into roles seamlessly.
Courageous conversations at all levels are also essential in succession planning. These discussions require maturity and the willingness to address difficult topics, paving the way for transparent and effective leadership transitions.
Board and Executive Sponsorship
Critical to the success of any succession plan is the buy-in from the board and executive leadership. Their continued sponsorship drives organisational alignment and commitment to developing future leaders.
Our recent events have provided valuable insights into these themes, highlighting the importance of developing a robust and forward-thinking approach to leadership succession. As we continue this journey, we remain committed to nurturing the enterprise leaders of tomorrow, ensuring they are equipped to step into roles of increasing responsibility with vision, agility, and resilience.
