Retention

Succession Management Value Proposition (SMVP): How to Propel Leaders & Organizations to Greatness


Jan 18

John Mattone, President, Executive Development Associates (EDA)

The following is an exclusive excerpt from John Mattone’s new book, “Stealth Leadership: Using Assessment & Coaching to Propel Your Leaders & Organization to Greatness.”

The “Stealth Fighter” Model: The Power of Your Succession Management Value Proposition

The “Stealth Fighter” Model offers a compelling, symbolic way to understand the predictive relationships that exist between critical human capital/succession management processes (the 4 D’s), critical “leading indicators” (capability, commitment and alignment—more on these later), intermediate outcomes and ultimate outcomes. The 4 D’s essentially act as the 4 turbo-charged engines that propel the “Stealth Fighter” towards its target—defined as an organization’s “Future Desired State” and the required leadership competencies to execute both the current and future business strategy. By way of analogy—if the 4 engines are “well oiled” and functioning at a high level (i.e., optimized) and working together (i.e., integrated), they will propel the “Stealth” towards its goal.

In practical terms, an organization’s Succession Management Value Proposition (SMVP) is the holistic sum of the following practices: (1) Demarcation-performance management; (2) Diagnostic—objectively assessing leaders and potential leaders; (3) Deployment-structured meetings to integrate performance and potential assessments, calibrate capability, determine development options, and identify potential replacement scenarios; and (4) Development—coaching, on-the-job development and training programs—and their relative impact on multiple levels of business outcome—such as capability, commitment and alignment (leading indicators), intermediate outcomes such as individual and team performance, bench strength, percentage of women and minorities promotions versus percentage in pool, percentage of women and minority successors, retention rate of successors, percentage of key positions filled internally, promotion rate of successors, success rates of those promoted and cost to fill key roles (lagging indicators), and ultimate outcomes such as organizational revenue, profits and operating ratios.

Regardless of the exact words used to capture a given organization’s SMVP, one thing is sure, the elements identified in the “Stealth” need to be well thought out, believed in, communicated, executed, and measured (assessed)—continuously. At its core, a great SMVP encompasses everything leaders and future leaders experience and receive as they are employed by the organization—including the degree of engagement they experience, their comfort and “fit” within the culture, the quality of leadership, the rewards they experience, etc. A great SMVP always encompasses the ways in which an organization fulfills the needs, expectations, and dreams of leaders. More than anything, a great SMVP clearly connects winning succession management practices to business and operating metrics. As was discussed earlier, there exists no better way to create the belief in the value of the human capital asset than by demonstrating the connectedness between winning succession practices and operational success.

The research is clear and compelling. The Hackett Group’s 2009 Talent Management Performance Study involving hundreds of Fortune 500 Companies gathered both qualitative and quantitative data showing enterprise financial, operational and process payoffs from talent management. Companies with the most mature talent management capabilities (i.e., the 4 D’s) had significantly greater EBITDA, net profit, return on assets and return on equity results than those companies that were immature in their talent management processes. Additionally, mature talent management companies had leaders who believed in the value of the human capital asset, were passionate about investing in building and growing talent, were relentless in their assessment of leaders, individuals and teams, and shared their human capital responsibilities with line managers and the Human Resources function.

It is clear that organizations that excel operationally excel initially with their human capital/succession management practices. They select and promote only those leaders and future leaders who demonstrate (as a result of performance and objective assessments) they have the highest probability of being successful; they benchmark and essentially “certify” (as a result of assessments) that leaders and future leaders have the capability, commitment and alignment required to execute strategy; they provide a rich, compelling, engaging and dynamic learning and performance support environment that motivates leaders and future leaders to become the best they can be; and they reward and recognize those who truly execute.

A strong SMVP foundation leads to: (1) Capability-“Can Do”; (2) Commitment-“Will Do”; and (3) Alignment-“Must Do.” Great organizations excel in creating the belief that their leaders and future leaders have the “can do” (i.e., the skills, the talents, the behaviors) to execute; the “will do” (i.e., passion, motivation, drive) to execute; and “must do” (i.e., an overwhelming sense of connectedness to the culture, mission, strategy and values of the organization) to execute. To put in different words, a strong SMVP is the foundation for an organization to build and sustain a culture in which leaders and future leaders become continuously more capable, committed and aligned. In fact, organizations that excel in promoting and developing leadership talent—with a focus and unwavering commitment to optimizing these “leading” indicators—as indicated earlier—achieve impressive operating results.

John Mattone was recently named by Thinkers50.com as one of the fastest rising stars in the field of leadership development. The Thinkers50, a biennial list of the world’s top business thinkers, identifies those people who are making a real difference in the world of business. John was ranked as one of the world’s emergent thought leaders and appears on the 2011 Thinkers 50 “Guru Radar” list.

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John Mattone is recognized globally as an inspiring keynote speaker, prolific author, and highly sought-after executive coach. John is the President of Executive Development Associates (EDA), a global leadership consulting firm that specializes in executive assessment, development, and coaching. John has over 30 years’ experience in the fields of executive development and human capital management, as an entrepreneur who has built two successful human capital consulting firms, as executive of a multi-million dollar leadership consulting firm, and as a leading researcher and author known throughout the Fortune 500 for his extraordinary speaking ability.

Prior to EDA, John was the Vice President of Global Assessment Services for Linkage, Inc., where he was responsible for the firm’s global assessment practice. Prior to Linkage, John was the Senior Vice President of Sales for Drake Beam Morin, the global career and outplacement firm. Before joining DBM, John spent 10 years building his first successful consulting firm, Human Resources International.

John has consulted for more than 250 organizations and addressed more than 500,000 people in 2,000 speeches and seminars throughout the U.S., Canada and other countries worldwide. John is a prolific author having written four books as well as over 100 professional articles and book chapters including the award-winning “The Role of Assessment in Driving Operating Results”, published in Jac Fitz-enz book “The New HR Analytics” (AMACOM, 2010) and “Predictive HR Leadership.” John’s newest books, entitled “Stealth Leadership: Using Assessment & Coaching to Propel Your Leaders and Organization to Greatness” and “Unlocking & Unleashing Your Leadership Potential,” are being heralded by leading experts, CEOs and HR leaders as “groundbreaking and innovative”.

John holds a B.S. Degree in Management and Organizational Behavior from Babson College and an M.S. Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Central Florida. John serves as an Executive MBA faculty member at Florida Atlantic University where he teaches his popular course Global Leadership Assessment & Development. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University. John also serves as Senior Faculty Member with the Talent Management Academy, a worldwide leader in leadership conferences and education. John is a member of numerous professional associations including the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches.