Succession Lessons from Steve Jobs
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When Steve Jobs died, many people wondered how the his company would survive without him. Jobs was an incredibly high-profile CEO, and his idiosyncratic leadership style, hyperbolic presentations and hands-on management approach were legendary. However, did anyone really think Jobs would step down as CEO unless he knew he was leaving his company in good hands?The best way to prepare for business succession is to imagine both the best and worst that could happen to your company after your current CEO is no longer at the helm. Then take a proactive approach and begin planning now so that your business will strengthen and grow no matter who is leading it.
On a practical level, you need to start seeking out your next generation of leaders.
Search out your stars.
A company's future depends on strong leadership. You'll need to determine if your next leader will be someone already on the payroll or an individual brought in from outside the company. Look for employees who have strong talents, skills that will help the business grow and a creative and enthusiastic stance toward their work.
Use your succession plan to fill the gaps.
Creating a succession plan requires a careful examination of how the business is being run. If you detect gaps--such as a lack of strong financial skills in a key department--fill them now. Creating a succession plan will force you to do what's necessary before you need it.
Fully involve your stakeholders.
There are many stakeholders that should be brought into the succession planning process. Instead of the CEO and head of HR presenting their succession plan to the board, engage the board in the development of a skills-and-experience profile for the CEO. It should go beyond the traditional position description and include both the competencies and experiences required for the next leader.
By involving the board, you create buy-in and alignment in the eyes of the jury who will select the next leader.
Once you've figured out what kind of person you want as your CEO and whether you can hire from within or need to conduct a search, it's time to test your theories.
Question yourself on your candidates. Practice makes perfect when it comes to executing succession plans. Once the criteria for the next CEO have been developed, measure your internal candidates against the answers to the following questions:
- Is there an emergency candidate who can take the reins for a time if the CEO were to leave tomorrow?
- Who do we have to invest in today so that he or she will be prepared tomorrow?
- Has the company developed a team strong enough to ease the transition to a new CEO?
- Is there a seasoned chairman or lead director who is willing to coach and mentor a new CEO?
During this process, it's important for current management to take some steps, too.
Build a culture that transcends your leadership.
Steve Jobs developed such a cult following that he seems impossible to replace. But Jobs built a management team and company culture that embraced his vision for the company and its products. He surrounded himself with people who shared his passions.
Great leaders build companies that can excel without them.
Control the message and stay consistent. Apple has a reputation for extreme secrecy, and has taken heat for it sometimes. But that's because they understand the extent to which they can control the message. Often your CEO will be saying one thing, the PR department will be saying another, and managers within the company will be contradicting all of that.
Leaders at every level need to get clear about their succession messaging and its delivery for the good of the company.
Transition proactively.
If you know ahead of time that your CEO is leaving, implement a transition period where she or he starts to step back and hand off more of the responsibilities and public exposure to other key personalities within the company. Crucial support must be provided--a good team, wise and accessible mentors, executive coaching and a feedback-rich environment--to create a setting in which the new CEO can be the most effective.
This will give your new leaders ample preparation to lead the company forward.
Choose people who can take over your duties, not your personality.
When choosing the CEO's successor, look for someone who shares his leadership traits. You can never replace a leader with his or her exact clone. And it's probably better not to. Instead, focus on developing a management team that can lead the company in a way that's consistent with the successful CEO's vision. Like Apple did.
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