3 Steps to Building a Leadership Succession Pipeline

Who in your organization can replace you? Have you ever asked yourself that question? If so, have you forced your management team to do the same? 

Unfortunately, I’ve found in my career that too many companies do not create a leadership style that includes this concept. A mentor of mine posed this question to me over 20 years ago, and being a stubborn young man, I didn’t appreciate or understand the concept. However, because I was paying him to be a consultant, I decided to listen, and it may be among the best advice I have ever received. 

Implementing this concept, we have grown our company significantly with exceptional management talent, many of whom have been here for over 15 years. I believe there are three essential steps to this: identify, develop, and trust.  

1. Identify Talent

When first tasked with implementing this concept by my mentor, I returned to my day job and looked at all those currently in leadership positions. Unfortunately, I found no one I would trust to replace any true leadership qualities I valued. 

While this sounds arrogant, I was tasked with finding people far better than me. They were all dedicated, loyal, skilled, and technically great employees, but were in their roles because of those fantastic qualities with a large dash of seniority. As discouraging as this was, it sent me to look at all our employees. I identified two individuals who fit the culture, temperament, and skill to rise in leadership and eventually replace my responsibilities in their respective departments. 

My first suggestion is the right person may not be the person you have currently, so look at everyone in your company.

2. Develop Talent

Once identified, you will need time, investing, and testing. The positive news is that the most significant investment you will make is time. There is no shortcut to time, and this will be the most challenging hurdle to overcome for most. 

Do you remember the old dot posters that when you crossed your eyes and stood on your head while looking sideways, there was a 3D image that popped out, and then you couldn’t look at the poster without seeing it? This is precisely what will happen when you discover this person. You won’t be able to unsee the talent. 

Talent undeveloped is dangerous for the rest of your team if put into leadership too soon. You need to work with them, test them with special projects of short-term leadership to see how they do and coach them. 

There will be opportunities to invest in paid professional development, but there is no substitute for your experience in your company with your employees. 

3. Trust Talent

Here is where the rubber meets the road. My director of operations has been with me for over 20 years, and he is one of the first two identified. He was a summer worker who ended up full-time since he didn’t want to pursue the field his degree was in.

He surprised me by wanting to leave the company to pursue the Coast Guard. I had to convince him he was the right person to run a division he had only been in for a year. Even without knowing all the jobs in the department, I knew he would be a great leader in our company. Round and round we went, but we worked out a plan for him to stay. Within two years, he was running the department.

With that same mindset of replacing himself, he had already started to train his replacement. By doing this, we got another great leader in charge of our company’s most profitable department, allowing him to move up. Trust means supporting them in their mistakes, directing them, and understanding through errors; they will learn to speak with authority and, more importantly, how to train their replacements. This allows you to focus on growing the company, not running it.

I hope you look for your replacement and are as blessed and rewarded as I have been.