Succession Planning
How can we ensure that there is a strong transition and handover of responsibilities when key staff members leave their roles or new roles are created in the organization?
Succession planning is the process of identifying and developing internal or external people with the potential to fill key positions in the organization.
It is a means of ensuring the organization is prepared with a plan when key people leave or new roles are created. A thoughtful succession plan enables a smooth transition of roles and responsibilities to the new hire.
Succession planning can help identify future leaders from within the organization and inform our leadership and development priorities that are needed for existing staff members to fill key roles.
Proactive Succession Planning
INSIGHTS
Identify Key Roles and Potential Vacancies
Encourage all team managers in the organization to periodically identify and revisit key roles and potential vacancies in their teams.
Identify Potential Successors
For all key roles, identify current employees who could potentially fill them in the future. If talent doesn’t exist within the organization, consider a gap analysis to understand whether there are skills, mindsets, or experiences missing, and build these into your team’s development plans. Develop a plan to recruit new staff members, prioritizing based on expected vacancies.
Build Your Talent Bench to Prepare for Future Promotions
Connect your succession planning with your professional development strategies, by building the capabilities of any potential successors. Connect this to any diversity and representation goals by implementing mentorship programs and/or having metrics in place. Learn more here.
TOP TIPS
- Create periodic ‘talent review’ meetings with team managers to identify top performers, potential departures, and new roles in the teams.
- Work with top performers to develop the skills, competencies, and experiences that will enable them to fill key roles within the organization. Support low performers in developing individual development plans or coaching them out of the organization.
- Ensure that every staff member has a periodic professional development plan that is created through performance appraisal conversations or regular 2x2 conversations
FAQs
How can I talk about people as top performers without gossiping?
Each staff member in your organization is responsible for fulfilling a role with set responsibilities, in addition to acting in line with your organization’s core values and beliefs. Your performance management system should help you to identify who among your staff is consistently meeting or exceeding their goals, nurturing a healthy culture, and operating in line with core values. Agreeing on what makes a top performer and then assessing everyone with fairness and equality can help move away from a more subjective evaluation.
How can I build an internal pipeline of candidates?
See the Learning & Development section for ideas.
What does an individual development plan look like?
See the Learning & Development section for ideas.
Staff Exits & Transitions
INSIGHTS
Address Performance Problems Quickly & Fairly
If staff members are underperforming or not a fit for the role or organization, it is important to address the issues with the intent to positively resolve them. Set clear expectations, make it clear when they aren’t being met, and make a plan to improve performance. If that fails, it may be necessary to terminate an employee.
Practice "Coaching Out" Conversations
A coaching out conversation is one in which the coach assists the coachee in understanding that their role or contribution is no longer the right fit at the organization, and that it’s time to leave. This is different from exiting an employee due to poor performance - it’s a two-way conversation that should ultimately result in the staff member recognizing that it’s time for them to move on.
Consult with Exiting Employee on Communications
Staff who are leaving, for whatever reason, should help to craft the messaging around their departure. Balance transparency with respect for an employee’s privacy.
Learn from Exiting Staff Members
Before an employee departs, take the opportunity to get their perspective on the role, their team, and the organization. These interviews can provide useful information for understanding the experience of staff, and point to strategies for improving retention and/or talent acquisition.
Plan for Knowledge Transfer
When planning a staff exit, be sure to include a step that includes the opportunity to transfer knowledge, including relationships, functional guidance, files, etc. This can be included in a transition plan, which will help to organize a smooth handover to another employee.
Celebrate Your Team Member & Say Goodbye
No matter the reason for the transition, it is best to maintain positive communication and relationships throughout. Thank the employee for their contribution, and wish them well for their next move.
Think Strategically About the Need for a Replacement
It may not always make sense to refill a vacant role. Consider whether the role matches your organization’s current needs, and whether the duties can be filled by other staff or a temporary hire. The people capacity may be better applied in a different function.
TOP TIPS
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Consult with local legal advice to insure you are in compliance with the law before terminating staff.
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Pay attention to the story you tell when people leave: whenever possible, name the real reason for departure (ex: they choose to leave because there was an opportunity that was a better fit somewhere else, or there were performance problems) and tell the story in a way that models your organization's core values.
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See Proactive Succession Planning for strategies to have an internal pipeline of talent to fill vacant roles.
FAQs
Should I write references for people who I have terminated?
It depends on your relationship with them, and whether you would truly recommend them to another organization. A recommendation is your professional opinion, so it’s not a good idea to write things that aren’t true. If you feel the person has real potential to contribute at another organization and you have evidence to suggest it, it makes sense to write a recommendation.
CEO & Senior Leader Transitions
INSIGHTS
Before a Transition, Focus on Strong Foundations
Even if the CEO has no plans to leave, it’s critical that the Board, CEO, and staff give time and energy to the foundations that will enable a successful transition when the time comes:
- High Performing Board: Ensure the Board deeply understands the organization’s core purpose, and is committed to finding a successor who matches the organization’s needs.
- Talent Mindset: Spend time cultivating the next generation of leadership within the organization and wider networks (see proactive succession planning above).
- Emergency Succession Plans in Place: Plans that detail key roles and responsibilities of the CEO, who should be left in charge in case of an emergency, and locations of key documentation and contacts can all help to aid a successful transition when the time comes.
Create a Clear Candidate Profile
Across the network, we've seen the following leadership attributes to be especially successful:
- Understands that the program is not just about teaching. Has deep belief in the organization’s theory of change and core purpose. Understands the historical context, social inequities, and current political and socio economic ecosystem, and the levers to pull for change.
- Aligns strategic decisions to the organization’s core purpose. Is thoughtful about allocating resources only to the work that will create the highest impact for kids in communities.
- Mobilizes collective action in pursuit of the organization's vision. Is leading a movement, not only an organization. Commands credibility with key stakeholders, from the boardroom to community spaces. Brings lenses of diversity, equity and inclusivity to the work. Enables leadership at all levels of staff and community.
- Knows how to complement their knowledge & skills. No one is the perfect candidate, but successful CEOs identify what kind of talent to bring into the organization to complement their strengths and gaps.
- May already be part of the movement. Many successful CEOs have come from within the organization, alumni, or community.
The Outgoing CEO has Multiple Roles to Play:
- Before the transition: Inform the Board about the CEO role and work, and deepen their understanding of theory of change so they will be prepared to conduct a successful search. Cultivate potential internal and external successors.
- During the transition: Support the Board in the search process so they are fully invested in the outcome. Share CEO expertise to inform the search and hire process. Support candidates in navigating the process, and begin to build credibility for new CEO.
- After the transition: Consider when to “lean in” and when to “step back” to support the incoming CEO. Consider how to remain connected to the organization, including serving on the Board.
The Board Plays a Leading Role
Key activities include:
- Deepen your understanding of and belief in the organization’s theory of change. This will inform the candidate profile, search process, and ultimately lead to a successful candidate.
- Own the search process. This builds investment to support the successful candidate and can also deepen the Board’s understanding of the organization’s core purpose.
- Focus on building strong relationships. With incoming CEO, but also with the outgoing CEO, donors, and key stakeholders, since they are all likely to feel a gap during the transition.
- Step in to support a gap in leadership. Especially if there is time between the outgoing and incoming CEO’s tenure, the Board should pay close attention to stewarding key relationships within the organization and with key partners and donors. They may need to step up fundraising efforts during the transition.
TOP TIPS
- Form a transition planning team who can design and oversee a transition timeline and communication strategy.
- Create a strong candidate profile based on an organizational assessment and input from key stakeholders.
- Benchmark compensation and create a positive candidate experience that is reflective of your values, inclusive of diverse candidates and perspectives, and enables you to assess the candidate's understanding of the organization's core purpose.
- Ensure the onboarding and transition includes knowledge transfer and relationship handoffs, as well as a celebration of the outgoing CEO.
- The outgoing CEO is likely to feel a range of emotions during and after the transition. Here are some tips to manage your mindset during the transition:
- Seek a coach or trusted advisor to speak with regularly.
- Get clear on your role in the transition, and communicate regularly with the Board chair and others who are overseeing the transition.
- Consider how you'll use your time with the Board to share your unique experience and knowledge to inform the search process.
- PLan for the ways you will phase yourself out of the work: the projects, the relationships, and the routine.
FAQs
Should I use an external search firm?
The biggest risk in using a search firm is that they don’t spend the time to truly understand your organization’s theory of change and therefore aren’t able to adequately screen candidates. To mitigate this, it’s critical that the firm prioritizes the search, including broadening and widening the announcement to include diverse candidates. This often requires working with a small firm, or if it’s a big firm, ensure that the person requesting the search is a high-paying client.
Should the outgoing CEO join the board?
If relationships between the outgoing CEO and Board are positive, and the outgoing CEO feels they can continue to contribute to the organization, it’s a good idea to consider joining the Board.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Teach For Bulgaria
- The leadership team at Teach For Bulgaria noticed that they were having difficulty filling roles in the organization and that a lot of decision-making power was concentrated in the leadership team.
- They decided that they wanted to see more distributed leadership in the organization, so that they could build a pipeline of talent and create stronger career pathways within the organization, as well as have people who were prepared to take on leadership positions in the future.
- They began to intentionally invest in their middle managers – working to develop their decision-making and management capabilities so that they would be poised to take on more senior roles. They also had regular professional development conversations with staff in the organization – both for meaningful feedback and also to discuss future career possibilities within the organization.
- At the CEO level, the CEO also considered how to invest in her direct reports so that they would be poised to take on the CEO role in the event that she moved to another role in the future. She had explicit conversations with her direct reports and the board to invest in the professional development of her direct reports and to talk about their career aspirations. And, she engaged in conversations with CEOs in other organizations who had been through transitions to seek their advice. This meant that when she was ready to move to another role, it was easy to identify a clear successor.
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