By Janet Waterston
People seem to have the same reaction to succession planning as they do to writing their wills. If you have no will, you can’t really die, the magical thinking goes. Similarly, executive directors imagine that if they avoid succession planning, no upstart underling can push them aside or show them up.
Of course, there is no correlation between eternal life and having a will, just as a succession plan does not guarantee that anyone will be promoted or someone else will lose a job. What a succession plan does is provide an association with some concrete information to help build individual and organizational capacity.
Recently, New York Technical Assistance Providers (NYTAP) convened a panel to uncover the mystique of and resistance to succession planning in order to support and encourage the practice in the nonprofit sector. Panelists were asked to define and describe the process as well as to explain its value as follows.
According to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), succession planning is “a focused process for keeping talent in the pipeline. It is process of... preparation, not pre-selection.” Succession planning is used to identify and develop internal people with the potential to fill key leadership positions in the organization. This means that it should be done for all significant positions, not just for the executive director. When developed and updated on a regular basis, a succession plan informs professional development by identifying the skills and experience needed to succeed in a job along with current employees who might have that background or be able to attain it with training, mentoring, or other opportunities to build an individual’s professional portfolio.
The steps to creating a plan are simple. The incumbent in a key position identifies the responsibilities of the job, as well as the skills, experience, education, and traits (sometimes referred to as emotional intelligence) necessary to fulfill the position. The skills and experience needn’t mirror that of the incumbent and, in fact, might unreasonably limit consideration of potential candidates. It is more important to identify bona fide skills, experience, and traits that contribute to success in similar positions. This can be accomplished by developing the succession plan in collaboration with human resources in organizations that have the function or with the incumbent’s supervisor.
The next step in the plan is to consider who, among current employees, might have some or all of the qualifications and, just as important, the potential to develop them. An estimate of time should be made as to when an internal candidate might be ready to assume the position along with steps to implement areas for further development.
For instance, a deputy director of development might identify both the major gifts officer and the special events director as potential candidates for his or her position. They may have the same number of years of experience in fund raising, but one may be better able to cultivate relationships or have more knowledge of how to work with boards. To develop them further, they may receive cross training or be asked to spearhead a special project that will require coordination and collaboration across the organization. They may be sent for training or be provided with an executive coach.
Incumbents should also consider employees from outside their own departments. Perhaps there’s a program director who has shown a flare for speaking with funders or responding to requests for proposals. This individual might also be considered as a potential successor in development.
The process can be done on a case-by-case basis by using the performance review process to match employees’ goals with organizational needs and then devising a plan to build employees’ skills and experience. A succession plan can also be an organization-wide project in which executive management works together to identify potential candidates in whom it wishes to invest for the future.
It’s important to note that a succession plan or the process of succession planning does not guarantee that any specific individual will be promoted upon a vacancy, nor does it inhibit an organization from conducting an external search. It simply ensures that employees are being groomed to grow with the organization, thus increasing employee retention while building organizational capacity. Additionally, although executive directors should plan for their own succession and contribute to internal candidates’ growth, it is the board’s responsibility to identify and select a successor when an actual opening occurs.
Organizations that undertake succession planning are better prepared for both temporary (e.g., during leaves), as well as ongoing vacancies. Such organizations are less likely to be strained by absences or emergencies, since employees are being prepared to take on greater leadership roles. A good succession plan will consequently free up key leaders to grow the organization and focus on achieving strategic goals and vision. Succession planning coupled with professional development is the key to building capacity—in individuals, organizations, and the nonprofit sector.
Janet Waterston is a human resources and organizational development consultant, who can be reached at 8401 Main Street, Briarwood, NY 11435; 718-849-2235; JAWatersto@aol.com; www.hrworkplaceexcellence.com.