Getting it Right — Dissecting Leadership Development and Succession

People leaders at all levels are struggling to navigate their increasing responsibilities – as they are juggling 51% more managerial tasks than they can handle, according to Gartner. Today’s organizations need leaders who can drive productivity through change, understand the nuances of hybrid working, and lead a multigenerational workforce, and CHROs are supporting this by setting new leadership expectations and evolving their leadership strategies.

Leadership development and succession planning continue to be top priorities for Evanta’s CHRO community members, and recently, the Houston CHRO community gathered virtually for a town hall to discuss their tactics and lessons learned in these areas. Here, HR leaders addressed how to ensure leadership competency, steps to remove bias from the leadership selection process, and the technical challenges they encounter in the current talent landscape.

Sakita Douglas, Interim-Chief People Officer for Harris County, Texas was the Governing Body Host for the program and Bill Ennis, SVP, CHRO at Academy Sports + Outdoors; Matthew Legg, SVP & CHRO at Par Pacific; Alvin Proctor, Vice President, Corporate Human Resources at Kaneka; and Lace Williams, Vice President, HR, Workforce Solutions at HP Inc. facilitated conversations as discussion leaders.
 

CHROs’ Thoughts on Leadership Development and Succession Planning

This highly interactive session began with HR leaders participating in a poll to level-set the topic. They were first asked an open-ended question about their sentiments towards succession planning, and the responses were mostly optimistic. Many executives shared that they feel “excited,” “determined,” and “focused.” Only a few executives said that succession planning makes them feel “overwhelmed” or they are “underprepared.”

When asked about the scope of their succession plans, 40% of CHROs say they include director-level and above, 30% of CHROs prioritize VPs and above, and 23% of CHROs include all leaders in their plans – starting with front-line managers. Only 8% conduct succession planning exclusively for C-suite positions. In addition, nearly 80% of participants said they update their succession plans yearly. 

Although CHROs have a positive outlook on succession planning, their views on managers' communication skills are not as favorable. An astounding 97% of CHROs believe their managers are not effective in holding conversations with their team members.

When asked about the most important trait they look for in leaders, the majority of CHROs (62%) said they look for leaders to be “adaptive.” Another 15% of CHROs said “technically qualified,” and “human-centric” and “authentic” each received 10% of responses. Only one CHRO said they prioritize “empathy” when hiring managers.
 

Key Takeaways from the Discussion

CHRO community members divided into groups to further discuss their leadership development and succession planning strategies and challenges. Their conversations distilled into three key themes:

Preparing Successors for Leadership Roles

• Assessment and Development: CHROs emphasize the use of comprehensive assessment tools (e.g., Birkman, DISC) to evaluate potential successors. Following assessments, tailored training and executive coaching are common practices to ensure readiness. 
• Exposure and Experience: HR leaders stress the importance of visibility for strong leadership candidates. Many are providing stretch assignments, project opportunities, and/or rotational experiences across different regions and business units to ensure they are “future ready” and have the “stepping stones” to be successful in their next role. One CHRO shared that they developed a program to match leaders’ specific development needs with stretch assignments to foster growth.
   

Ensuring a Non-Biased Succession Planning Approach

• External Perspectives: Bringing in external talent was a clear theme to help challenge existing biases. For many CHROs, this approach has led to significant changes in the slate of potential successors. One shared, “We need fresh external perspectives to see things differently, and bringing in these individuals may shift the successor plans.”
• Diverse Decision-Making: CHROs cited difficulties in removing biases when executives “groom internal candidates to be their replacements.” To combat this, CHROs are involving leaders from various functions in the selection process to help mitigate favoritism and ensure a broader evaluation of candidates. One CHRO emphasized, “Make sure the loudest voice in the room does not always win.”
• Focus on Key Characteristics: HR leaders are identifying success profiles for each role and determining if there are matches within the company or if they should look outside. One participant advised peers to narrow the list to one or two candidates that fit this profile and work on development opportunities from there. However, another CHRO cautioned, “Be careful with evaluating only the skills in a success profile for a particular role. We are all diverse and successful in our positions [as CHROs], and we should think the same when selecting successors.”
   

Addressing Cultural and Technological Challenges in Leadership Development

• Technological Investments: There is a recognized need for investment in technology to support both HR and talent needs. One CHRO shared their struggle with manual processes, saying, “We’re a tech company, and until recently we were doing succession planning manually, because the funds just don't go to HR technology.” 
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Advancements with AI are posing industry-wide challenges, and CHROs are struggling to source leaders with data and AI skills as well as upskill in these areas. 
• Multigenerational Workforce: CHROs described how they need to adapt their organizational culture and technological investments for Gen Z employees. They said, “The new generation has a mindset of what they are going to achieve and within their own timelines. Do we have the capabilities [e.g., innovative technologies] to deliver this for them?” Participants discussed how they should align their value propositions and development timelines with these expectations to attract and retain future leaders. 
• Balancing Internal and External Talent: Executives addressed tensions with stakeholders when deciding to promote from within or bring in external talent. They agreed that overcoming leadership resistance to external hires is crucial for addressing skill gaps and fostering innovation.

CHROs can continue the discussion on leadership development and succession planning at an upcoming Evanta community gathering. Evanta community members can sign in to MyEvanta to find events and register with one click. If you are not an Evanta member, apply to join your local CHRO community to stay up-to-date on key topics for HR leaders.

 

by CHROs, for CHROs
 

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