One of the reasons reality shows are so popular on television is the unexpected.

For example, the person you thought wasn’t going to cut it, who suddenly pulled out all the stops, or the one who did so well in the early stages, but crashed and burned.

And that’s a good lesson for business too.

You may be very good at succession planning and already have it in your company. You may have even identified just who your rising stars are. You know the ones – your future leaders, who seem to be ideally suited to management.

But how good at you at regularly evaluating your planning? And just how closely are you monitoring your rising stars?

Just like the reality shows, some of your people may be struggling.

It is very easy when somebody is exceptionally good at their job to want to reward them with promotion or additional responsibilities. But just because they have great skills doesn’t make an employee a good manager.

Your rising stars need to have the necessary skills to become leaders. Abilities such as decision making or planning can be taught and developed, so you will need to ensure this is all tied into an individual development plan for each of your future leaders.

What motivates individuals is much more difficult to control – and the chances are that will change over time. Changes in people’s personal lives can alter their motivation at work, for the better or worse. Monitoring this, can flag up early warning signals that your rising star is flagging and it is time for you to intervene.

As people progress through your organisation, you will notice how they change and develop. Personality traits that were perfectly acceptable in the early days may spiral and become far less attractive as they gain further responsibility. Being good at delegating is fine, but refusing to take any interest is not, for example.

Not everybody handles stress well, and you will need to keep an eye on how all of your stars behave under pressure. Do they need your support? Do they need coaching? Or are they out of their depth?

Succession planning is not just a tick in the box. It is an ongoing process that is changing and evolving all the time, as both your people and your business grows.

If you would like help with succession planning for your business, please contact us on 01256 328 428, or click the buttons below:

Let’s talk about Succession Planning