News & Events
FEI - National Capital Region Chapter
Beyond the Numbers: The Evolving Leadership Role of the CFO
Jill Birch, Principal and National Capability Lead, Knightsbridge
January 26, 2012
Ottawa, ON
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HRPA Annual Conference - HR: 2012 and Beyond Inventing the Future
Maximizing the Impact of L&D: Mindset, Skillset, Deliberate Process
Tammy Heermann, Director, Customized Leadership Solutions, Knightsbridge
February 3, 2012
Toronto, ON
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ICD Chapter Events
Beyond the CEO: What Boards Can Do to Ensure Organizations Have the Culture, Leadership, and Talent to Thrive
Moderator: Courtney Pratt, Chairman, Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions
ICD Edmonton Chapter
February 8, 2012
Edmonton, AB
ICD Calgary Chapter
February 9, 2012
Calgary, AB
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Strategic Capability Network
Beyond the CEO: What Boards Can Do to Ensure Organizations Have the Culture, Leadership, and Talent to Thrive
Panelist: David Shaw, Founder and CEO, Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions
Moderator: Vince Molinaro, Managing Director, Leadership Solutions, Knightsbridge
February 22, 2012
Toronto, ON
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HRIA Conference
The Role & Future of HR: The CEO's Perspective
Susan Robinson, Principal, Leadership Solutions, Knightsbridge
April 24, 2012
Calgary, AB
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FEATURE ARTICLE
Why Are So Many Organizations Bad At Succession Planning?
When it comes to succession planning, there are two things almost everybody agrees on. First, effective succession planning is the cornerstone of sustainable organizations. And second, the overwhelming majority of organizations are bad at succession planning.
Why would so many organizations fail at something that is considered so important? The reasons vary from organization to organization, but there are some common causes and in many cases, excuses.
read more ...

Is it Ever Too Soon to Start Looking for Your CEO’s Successor?
How soon after taking over the reins of an organization should the new CEO start planning for his or her replacement? If you’re A.G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble, you start working on finding your replacement within weeks of taking the job.
In a detailed account of his ascension to the CEO’s role, published recently in the Harvard Business Review, Lafley noted that there was no formal CEO succession plan in place when he took over P&G in June 2000. However, after devoting the first 100 days of his tenure to revamping key business strategies, Lafley focused the attention of his board of directors on the issue of succession and leadership development throughout the organization.
Lafley took on responsibility for coaching and developing top executives within P&G to cultivate strong leadership capacity, which he knew was critical to ensuring the organization would thrive over the long term. With an eye on identifying top candidates to replace him as CEO, he positioned the succession process as a shared responsibility between the current CEO and the board. One of the board’s six meetings each year was devoted entirely to succession planning and Lafley ensured that the board got first-hand exposure to top CEO succession candidates without him in the room. He also provided the board with regular updates on the candidates’ development progress.
read more ...

IN CONVERSATION WITH ...


Michele McKenzie, President and CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), talks with Knightsbridge about what sparked the CTC’s decision to start a comprehensive leadership development and succession plan in 2008, what the planning and implementation entailed, how CTC employees responded, and what the results have been.
read more ...

ASK KNIGHTSBRIDGE


I’ve been told that it’s essential to share with my people information about our succession planning approach. How do I do that without triggering infighting and disengagement?
Seonaid Charlesworth, Ph.D.
Senior Consultant with Knightsbridge’s Leadership Solutions Practice in Calgary
1. Transparency is essential for succession planning success. Assuming you have a succession plan – and that’s a big assumption given that many organizations in Canada do not – it is very important to give your employees as much information as possible about how succession decisions are made. Many organizations fear that revealing who is, and who is not, part of succession planning will promote a sense of entitlement among some, and disengagement among others, respectively. In reality, transparency about what criteria are considered in making succession decisions and what opportunities could exist for future leadership roles increases the trust between organizations and their employees, and decreases the rumours and speculation that can be so divisive.
2. It’s not just what you’re doing, but why and how. It’s not enough just to tell your people you have a succession plan. They will need to know what you expect of leaders, and the behaviors and other characteristics that will give them a bona fide shot at promotion. They will need to know that there is a clearly defined criteria for advancement, developed at the executive level and based on business requirements. And that when it comes time to make a final decision on succession, the data produced from these criteria will be the deciding factor.
3. Succession planning should become a regular topic of conversation. If leadership does not broach the subject of succession planning, many within the organization will fear there is a ‘secret list’ of candidates who are being considered for promotion. The best way to defuse that scenario is to bring up the topic of succession planning regularly in career development and performance review discussions. Your people need to know that top succession candidates are not born; they can be developed.
4. Make sure your leaders are prepared for difficult conversations. Sitting down face to face with someone to discuss his or her future with your organization can be an unsettling experience, both for the employee and for the manager. It is very important to prepare leaders for these conversations, and ensure they are equipped to both inform honestly and counsel objectively. They must help individuals understand the succession system; determine their own level of aspiration for leadership and how the organization can help them meet the criteria for advancement.
5. Make sure everyone knows the door is never closed. Succession planning, when executed properly, is a partnership between an organization and its employees. It’s not a secret club and not a popularity contest. One of the best ways of communicating that is making sure individuals know that even if they are not currently being considered for promotion or don’t wish to be, given their personal situation, they can be sometime in the future. Those employees who express aspirations to take on larger and more important roles should be supported by the organization, and given every opportunity to meet leadership expectations. Conversely, even the most promising succession candidates need to be told that being part of a succession plan does not mean they will stay there forever. These are opportunities that must be constantly earned.

RECOMMENDED READING

• Beyond the CEO: The Role of the Board in Ensuring Organizations have the Talent to Thrive
By Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions

Most Canadian directors acknowledge that human capital oversight is an essential part of their work. The vast majority indicated their boards have direct responsibility for CEO compensation, performance management, and development, including succession planning. But the majority of directors also believe that boards should monitor strategic talent management areas such as HR strategy, organizational culture, employee engagement, succession planning, and learning and development. read more ...
• Leadership Succession: How To Avoid A Crisis
By Wayne F. Cascios
Ivey Business Journal
In the C-suite, the need to develop and implement a plan for leadership succession is one of the most frequently discussed topics. Yet according to this author, the overwhelming majority of companies have done little about it. Executives who think they can wait will learn why implementing a plan right now can save their company — and their job. read more ...
• Planning For Your Next CEO
By Ana Dutra and Joseph E. Griesedieck
McKinsey Quarterly
When Ken Lewis announced last September that he would be stepping down as CEO of Bank of America, he declared it was “time to begin to transition to the next generation of leadership” at the company. There was just one problem: the largely new and recomposed board had not coalesced on a succession plan and had to embark on a CEO search that was resolved only when Brian Moynihan was elected in December. Through this lack of preparation in strategic planning, Bank of America had opened the door to scrutiny and criticism. read more ...
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About Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions
Knightsbridge works with organizations to strengthen their most valuable asset, their people. We help clients seamlessly recruit, develop, and optimize talent to create competitive advantage and improve performance.

Knightsbridge is Canada’s leading integrated human capital company, with over 250 employees in Executive Search & Recruitment, Leadership & Talent Development, Career Management and Workforce Management, serving clients across Canada, the US, the UK and Australia. Our strategic alliance with Amrop, the world’s largest executive search network, enables us to serve our Executive Search clients globally.

Knightsbridge has the people and services you need when you need stronger people.
www.knightsbridge.ca