Let's begin with a working definition of succession. Succession: The act or process of one person's taking the place of another in the enjoyment of or liability for his (her) rights or duties or both (Webster). Our definition of Succession is a process of transferring leadership from one generation to the next after focused grooming and leadership development. Note that Success is the root word of succession. What creates success? What evokes failure?

What are some of the roadblocks to succession? The roadblock from both generations usually clusters around beliefs, perceptions, assumptions, and values.

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Weeks of meeting with the senior staff about vision and strategy were burning to be shared. She was looking forward to this moment. She talked about the hours of planning the senior management team had put in, and she was ready to share the good news: "We have some exciting news about the vision of our company. We are going to be doubling our business in the next three years!"

She was surprised by the muffled applause. She saw the facial expressions, the sideward glances, and she couldn't understand why the message of the vision was met with such unbridled resistance. This was exciting news for this four-year-old company, and it seemed to have a muted response.

It's a lesson not only in what you say and do, but how you deliver it. If time is not taken to consider the What's In It for Me (a.k.a. WIFM) factor, the company vision can be delivered with a thud instead of a resounding cheer. What the internal customer, the staff, wants to hear is the rest of the story. How will this impact my workload? How might I benefit if we are successful? What is the compelling reason for the vision? What might be the financial incentives for the stakeholders as well as the stockholders? The three greatest incentives for the internal customers are: financial rewards tied to achieved goals; a clear line between the company vision and their contribution to its success; and opportunity for professional development. If you want to turn a thud into a cheer, you have to give them reason to wave the flag.

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The comment we most often hear from CEOs is of hiring someone in haste only to regret it at leisure. The opportunity we miss in the interview process to assess this candidate from all perspectives becomes a threat down the road.

As in any initiative, planning is half the challenge, while implementation is the other. There are five steps to successful assessment that will help them fill the gaps of uncertainty in the process of finding key talent. Ask some key questions that must be answered by the interviewee and create a process that chooses the top candidate. Include many ways of finding the answers to those questions, including scored individual interviews, team interviews, social interviews, DISC assessments, and presentation interviews. In all cases, create questions that get at the traits and skills, both hard and soft, that will make this a successful fit.

By the time they see the candidate, the HR department will present people who meet the basic requirements for the job. The real challenge is creating a process that culls the extraordinary from the ordinary and finds someone who will excel in the corporate culture with their unique executive team.

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