Early leadership coaching lays the cornerstones of succession. It scouts talent, develops the internal talent pool, and ensures that promoted employees have aligned their goals and priorities with those of the organization. Business coaching can help with the transition process when the time comes.

“Succession planning helps build the bench strength of an organization to ensure the long-term health, growth, and stability.”- Teala Wilson.

When you hear that a sports team is “deep,” it means that it has valuable players on its bench ready to step up, should anything happen to the starters. As an intelligent leader, you want your organization to be similarly deep, so when the time comes for an executive to hand over the reins, you don’t have to import outside talent to fill the spot.

Every successful organization needs a “loaded bench.”

The way to load up your bench is through early leadership coaching.

The Role of Leadership Coaching in Succession Planning

Leadership coaching has a far-reaching and multi-pronged impact on succession and talent development.

Executive coaching can create and sustain an organizational culture that values talent management. Well-coached leaders at the top understand the importance of succession and implement company-wide measures to facilitate talent development. On this level, executive coaching covers every aspect of talent management.

• The implementation of processes that focus on identifying high-potential employees
• Setting up an assessment framework that identifies the gaps between the skills and abilities of high-potential talent and the requirements of various leadership positions
• Opportunities for training and development for all high-potential employees on every level of the organization

Succession-oriented leadership coaching on the executive level can boost the skills and competencies of the entire staff while creating a deep talent pool that can quickly fill critical roles as the need emerges.

Leadership coaching on the individual employee level ensures that organizations don’t end up paying a high price for promoting the wrong talent.

Before promoting an individual to a higher role, the organization should understand this person’s goals and motivations. Some high-potential employees may not seek promotion opportunities. They may be ill-prepared to handle the new position’s challenges and pressures, preferring to hold on to their existing roles or shift careers.

Leadership coaching is the most straightforward path to address such problems, saving the organization money, time, and costly disruptions.

Early leadership coaching allows candidates to calmly and safely assess their priorities and goals, as well as their willingness to align these factors to the requirements of a potential leadership position.

Organizations Benefit from Leadership Coaching on the Operational Level

Succession-focused leadership coaching delivers many additional benefits to organizations, such as:

• Providing opportunities for the workforce to acquire new skills
• Broadening perspectives and exposing employees to alternative viewpoints
• Giving employees much-needed and valued role clarity
• Improving employee engagement and motivation
• Creating an organizational culture conducive to continuous improvement and better performance
• Offering employees better work satisfaction and allowing them to assume psychological ownership of organizational goals
• Creating clarity about promotion opportunities and the requirements of leadership roles

Coaching gets employees to buy into the organizational goals and values. 

Leadership coaching seeks to effect lasting behavioral change. Once executives and high-potential employees learn how to effect such change, succession becomes smoother, and the organization’s long-term health gains a significant boost.

The Role of Business Coaching in Succession Planning

Leadership and executive coaching aim to prepare organizations for succession, setting them up to succeed.

The role of business coaching is to assist organizations with succession and transition. The time comes in the life of every organization when succession becomes a practical reality. The value of a thorough succession plan skyrockets during such times.

Organizations can make potentially disruptive leadership transitions smooth and easy to execute by developing a potent internal talent pool and a succession plan to go with it.

Business coaching can develop and implement the strategy that ensures long-term growth and stability for the company, despite the inevitable upheaval of transition.

Leadership and business coaching are integral parts of a comprehensive succession planning and talent development effort. Through coaching, organizations invest directly into their future health, stability, and success.

Check out my books to learn more about the benefits of leadership coaching.

Back to blog