Leader Transition & Succession Planning

Selecting and developing high potentials is just part of managing the talent internally in an organization. Identifying successors and implementing a transition strategy is a critical function for an owner, leadership team, or board of directors. Leadership changes can be unexpected and high-risk and can occur at any stage of the business cycle. If handled before a crisis arises, succession planning and development presents an opportunity to prepare for future change. A proactive plan provides a clear roadmap for handling both planned and unplanned executive departures.

Creative Intelligence works with our clients to

• Define current bench strength and identify key competencies needed in an interim or successor candidate
• Identify potential candidates for key positions
• Prepare and implement succession development plan
• Establish relevant metrics like the percent of executive level vacancies that are actually filled with an internal promotion vs. an external hire, or the percent of promotions that actually come from the high-potential pool.

Actionable Communication

Our approach to successful succession planning highlights the use of communication to

• Determine the gap between current succession plan and an updated strategy, and create the new approach based on collected data.
• Design a Communication Strategy that creates stakeholder support and results in buy-in for change.
• Develop Top-Down Commitment that addresses all potential barriers to successful change.
• Deploy a Process not an Event that can measure the success of change and revise the initiative as necessary.