One of the most popular downloads at eaglesflight.com over the recent weeks has been our discussion paper on succession planning. The reason for this high interest in the subject of succession planning is pretty obvious. As the economy recovers, the war for talent is heating up again; but now, after a number of recessionary years, even more baby boomers are moving out of leadership positions and into retirement.
According to UNC’s David Leonard, Ph.D., “We have a perfect storm brewing. As the economy recovers, employees who have been hunkering down will seek new opportunities elsewhere, and Baby Boomers may finally feel comfortable to retire. Employers have to be ready for the exodus, and that’s where succession planning is so important.”
Effective succession planning is made up of a number of elements designed to locate, assess and develop talent for specific future management positions. One of the most effective methods for developing future leaders is a learn-by-doing approach. Known alternately as Action Learning or Experiential Learning, this approach is designed to optimize learning retention and give high potential leaders real-world experience with organizational problems.
Action learning is based on the experiential learning cycle, which allows individual learners or teams to take action relating to a problem or a project. The action taken generates results upon which the learner then reflects and asks three questions:
“What?” - what effect did the action have?
“So What?” - what was the significance of the effect?
“Now What?” - what adjustment needs to be made based on the assessment of the effect?
The Experiential Learning Cycle is a highly effective way for leaders to develop an awareness of how their assumptions, beliefs, attitudes, and preferences influence their decisions and actions; a prerequisite for effective leadership.
Will the elements of your organization’s succession plan prepare you to weather the perfect storm?