Having done succession planning over a number of years there are a number of key lessons I'd like to

share. The first one relates to the perspective of the employee. As an employee it's important that you
understand the exercise of succession planning in the right way many employees confuse succession
planning with promotion or with replacement this is not the case at least not if succession planning is
done properly succession planning is about development opportunities. As an employee you should
understand that if you are nominated to be a successor whether this is fully disclosed to you or not that
means there's a development opportunity for you there, that means that your employer is willing to
invest precious resources in your development, getting you ready for the target world. In addition to you,
there could be other successors. And by the time the employee who's currently holding the position
position leaves, and maybe the case that someone else has chosen for that position. Does that mean you
lose as an employee? No. That means you have been able to develop your skills, knowledge, an
experience in a way that has giving you an advantage over your peers. Your market value has increased. I
think an important responsibility for the employer is to communicate succession planning therefore in
the right way to employees. We need to make sure that employees understand this is all about
development opportunities, and all about promotion. This way we can utilize the benefits of succession
planning in an optimal way for employees and for their organizations.

Having been involved in succession planning for several years, I would like to share some key insights.
The first one pertains to the employee's expectation.

As an employee, it's crucial to comprehend the concept of succession planning accurately. Many
employees mistakenly equate succession planning with promotion or replacement. This is not typically
the case. At least, not if succession planning is executed correctly—it is primarily about development
opportunities. If you are nominated as a potential successor—whether disclosed to you or not—it
signifies a development opportunity. It means your employer is willing to invest valuable resources in
your development, preparing you for future roles. There could be multiple potential successors for a
given role. By the time the incumbent leaves, it might be that another person is chosen for the position.

Does this signify a loss for you as an employee? Absolutely not. It indicates that you have had the
opportunity to enhance your skills, knowledge, and experience in a way that gives you an edge over your
peers. Your market value has increased.

I believe it's an employer's essential responsibility to communicate the process of succession planning to
employees accurately. It's important to ensure employees understand that the focus is on development
opportunities, rather than promotion. This perspective allows us to maximize the benefits and set the
right expectations.

The second lesson relates to leadership commitment. Having a succession plan is not just a nice to have
it sends a clear message to your employees that you are serious about considering their talents driving
your organization today and tomorrow. If you have a succession plan in place and another shared with
different leaders and employees in the organization, then make sure you commit to that plan. If there is
any opportunity to promote internal talent to one of the critical roles in the scope of the succession
planning exercise so. Don't resort to recommendations based on connections based on network based
on third parties, instead leverage your own talent. I cannot emphasize enough how much benefits this
has for employee engagement, talent retention, and productive competition.
The second insight emphasizes the role of leaders; particularly the executive management team. Having
a succession plan is not a nice-to-have feature; it sends a clear message to your employees that you
value their talents and consider them integral to driving your organization's present and future success.

If you have a succession plan in place and have shared it with employees, then commit to that plan.
Should any opportunity arise to promote internal talent to one of the critical roles within the scope of
succession planning, seize it! Avoid resorting to external hiring; instead, leverage the talent within your
own organization. In this manner, succession planning will not only serve as a tool for mitigating risk but
will also foster talent retention and enhance employee engagement.

A third and final lesson here is the importance of seeing succession planning as a shared responsibility.
Succession planning is not something that is owned by HR, it is owned by the organization. Having a
succession plan is not enough you can have a nice succession plan hang it on the wall admire it from all
angles and then continue to not manage your talent accordingly. The real work starts after the
succession plan. It is the responsibility of this CEO and his executive team to initiate development
dialogues between leaders and those who have been identified as successors and create short but
effective development plans. Development plans do not always have to start with expensive business
schools, i believe it's much more important to dedicate our time to employees and to show them that
their development is important to us. The development plan can be as simple as matching the successor
with a mentor, or drafting an engaging rotational plan for the successor. Ultimately it is all about
empathy and attention. I would therefore recommend to spend less time tracking and monitoring the
succession planning KPI's and spend more time talking with successors and supporting their
development.

The third and final insight emphasizes the importance of viewing succession planning as a shared
responsibility. Having a succession plan in place is not the end game. Indeed, you could create an
excellent succession plan, admire it from all angles, and yet fail to manage your talent effectively. The
real work begins after the succession plan has been established.

The CEO and the executive team bear the responsibility to initiate development dialogues between
leaders and identified successors, creating concise and effective development plans. These plans don't
always need to focus on costly business schools. I assert that it's far more crucial to dedicate our time to
employees, showing them that their development is important to us.

Development plans can be as straightforward as pairing a successor with a mentor or designing an

engaging rotational plan for them. Ultimately, it all boils down to empathy and attention. Therefore, I
recommend spending less time tracking and monitoring succession planning KPIs, and more time
engaging with successors to support their development.