By Meredith Camp

With all this discussion on the retirement tsunami, you might be getting a bit concerned about how prepared your agency is for the plethora of potential openings this wave will leave in its wake.  Depending upon the size of the organization, you may or may not have a formalized plan in place for setting up a solid bench of future managers and executives.  In case you don’t, here is an overview of what you will need in order to prepare your institution for a successfully led path forward.

First, it is important to note that in order to prevent a prolonged and flustered lull between retired and newly seated leader, you must take a proactive approach to determining who in your organization is a potential future leader and how you can successfully get them from present to future state.  Here’s an overview:

1.  Who in your organization is a future leader? What “standout” individuals have the potential to rise up the ranks of your organization and skillfully lead workers and influence positive change?
2.  Are they on the right career track for that role? Are they in a dead-end position or are they on a path moving toward a leadership role within the agency?
3.  What skills and experience are they currently lacking? Unless they are ready to take over position tomorrow (which is unlikely), they will need to gain certain abilities in order be prepared for the responsibility this future role will require.
4.  Who and/or what can help get them that skillset and experience?

1.  Who can be tapped to mentor/coach/advise?
2.  What on-the-job or formal training would be beneficial to help them on this path?

5.  Do you have this formalized guide laid out for all your future leaders? If this plan is not drawn out into a strategic, formal process, you will be wandering aimlessly through, unsure of who to tap or how to get them ready and make it a much more difficult procedure to get a solid bench in place.

Does your organization have a formalized succession plan in place? How do you prepare future leaders for that role?