How to Choose a Successor With The Proper Qualifications

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By Tmima Grinvald

 

You are going on a long departure from your company soon. How do you prepare your employees and your company for this change?

Previously, we outlined three different steps:

  1. Strategic planning
  2. Delegation
  3. Succession planning

Strategic planning requires identifying the tasks that must be finished while delegation focuses on distributing and prioritizing the tasks at hand. The third and final step, succession planning, involved finding a temporary replacement for your position.

Succession planning can often times be very stressful. You want to find someone who will lead your company the way you want it to be led. So how do you go about that? How do you find the person that you can trust and will allow for a seamless transition?

Simply following your gut or making a random decision for such a big position is not the best way to go. You want to do your research and make sure that your successor is the ideal fit.

Succession planning can be separated into two parts:

• Skills – Does s/he have the basic requirements to fit this position?

• Attitude – Does s/he same a similar set of values or ideas as you?

Your successor should be qualified for this part.

A good way to figure out nominations for the position, you first and foremost need to create a list of key qualities. What MUST this successor be able to do?

Now classify all of these skills from a scale 1-10- 1 as “least” important and 10 as “most”.

  • A job that requires outdoor work would prioritize fitness over public speaking even if both are required.

Next, decide the minimum “value” number that a successor must have. This value number is again on a scale of 1-10, expect this time, it is just for this particular skill.

After you have a good idea of the requirements, think through all the people who you have worked with and fill in their value numbers. This should give you a more accurate idea of their qualifications. Remember, if no one fits the bill as well as you would like, hiring from a different part of the company or even outside the company is a possibility.

After you have a short list of qualified candidates, you can think about how their attitudes fit with those of you and your company.

  • Do you think that they share the same values as you?
  • Will they make similar decisions as you?

It is important to ensure that both the skills and attitudes of the candidate align with your company and that you hire someone you trust.

 

About

For more information understanding each part of succession planning, visit our blog and the blog post, “Succession Planning for a Long Departure”.

If you are looking to hire a business executive coach, look no further than The Round Well! Our coaches focus on understanding individual client needs, business environment, team intricacies, and developing results that will help you reach the goals you seek. Visit our website and blog, http://theroundwell.com, for more information pertaining to coaching and leadership development.

 

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