Organizations must implement proven practices to identify and promote future leaders that will encourage their teams to outperform. After all, there is no lack of leaders, but there is a sizable lack of great leaders. Companies must invest in inspirational leaders that can guide and nurture teams to unlock their full potentials.

1. Promote leaders and identify future leaders and position them in the leadership pipeline based upon the relevant competencies required for success now and into the future (i.e., 5 to 10 years).
2. Identify at least two candidates who are “ready now” and two “future” candidates for each mission—critical role throughout the organization.
3. Promote “top shelf” executive talent which is vetted using multi-method executive assessment.
4. Reduce “top shelf” executive talent turnover with thorough on boarding when introducing an executive to a new position and by having regular career and development discussions ensuring each executive is nurtured,  properly challenged and developed with a strong emphasis on coaching and mentoring.
5. Establish a succession management process that is perceived to be fair and open. A critical factor in retaining high-potentials and emerging leaders is letting them know they have been identified as “valued assets” and then follow through with targeted coaching and development opportunities. It is likewise as critical to let your “valued assets” know that being identified as a “valued asset” guarantees nothing other than the organization’s commitment to help them become the best they can be.
6. Insist on “user-friendly” succession management processes and tools.
7. Effectively and correctly identify high potential and emerging leaders using multi method executive assessment.
8. Implement talent review meetings that effectively integrate performance, objective assessment data, potential, and readiness information.
9. Conduct talent review meetings to accurately calibrate a candidate’s potential and readiness based on integrated diagnostic information.
10. Ensure talent review meetings include isolating development plans for successors and high potentials.
11. Include talent review meetings that focus on leveraging diversity and setting development plans/goals for minority successors.
12. Ensure senior management is involved and supports the executive development and succession management process.
13. Create executive development and coaching programs that are linked to the overall strategy of the company as well as the leadership competencies required for success now—and into the future—based on current and anticipated  market conditions and resulting business strategy.
14. Set executive development programs and coaching goals linked to objective assessment results.
15. Drive multi-faceted (i.e., 70-20-10) executive development programs.
16. Have executives and future leaders create Individual Development Plans (IDP’s) based on a combination of subjective feedback from their manager, objective assessment results, and results from the succession planning/talent review meetings with the help of an executive coach.
17. Arrange for executives and future leaders to partner with their hiring executives in creating their initial IDP’s.
18. Have a personal passion and plan for ensuring that leadership development efforts do produce an effective ROI.
19. Possess a passion and plan for ensuring that leadership development is continuous—not “event” driven.
20. Create a way for executives, their managers, and HR to track developmental progress; don’t be afraid to course correct high potential lists based on re-calibrated performance, potential and developmental progress information (i.e., high potential lists should be fluid, meaning that executives can enter or exit the high potential pool based on their developmental progress).

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