As I mentioned in my last blog post, a Succession Plan isn’t the same as planning for succession. And a Talent Review isn’t enough to retain and develop your future leaders.
They are simply the starting point.
The first step you should take after you’ve completed those processes is to look at the talent identified and prioritise those that would benefit from working with an external coach.
There are two reasons why I recommend coaching as the first strategy you implement:
1. It is the most helpful for employees.
One of your key objectives when developing your future leaders is to help those individuals take ownership for developing their careers within your organisation. Research by Blessing-White has shown that external coaching is the most helpful resource an organisation can provide for helping an employee manage their career.
2. It is easy to implement.
A number of talent development strategies involve considerable time and effort to put in place. In some cases, the shift in mindset, skill and culture represent a major change in the organisation. Coaching on the other hand is quick and easy to put in place.
You may wonder why I’m not suggesting that everyone on your talent plan works with an external coach.
Of course they would all benefit.
But in a world where time and money are finite resources, you need to invest them wisely. And you need to identify the people on your plans who will benefit more and add greater value as a result of external coaching.
Let me give you an example.
One of my clients is the UK division of a fast-growing global company. The Chief Exec wants to grow his management team with the organisation and feels that all of them could benefit from development. Out of the six Directors who report to him he has identified two who he feels would benefit most from coaching. He has identified other development processes and activities for the other four Directors.
For the two Directors he selected, he felt that coaching was the right intervention because in both cases, the individuals were highly skilled, knowledgeable and experienced. The challenge was applying that skill, knowledge and experience in new ways to meet the organisation’s ever-changing, ever-increasing demands.
Hiring an external coach for these two directors is a strategy he can implement immediately that will help unlock their potential and maximise their performance for their benefit and that of the organisation.
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