I kicked off Thursday with the session about succession planning, or how to plan for the time when key staff members with years of tenure retire or move on. Nancy Bartlett defined succession planning as, the recruiting, training, development of staff to fill key positions. She argued that within this kind of planning there is an inherent tension between continuity and change. Despite this tension, Nancy believes we must use these transitions as an opportunity to invest in human capitol. Once a staff member leaves, in Nancy’s experience, the new leadership experiences Janus type behavior, of looking backwards and forwards towards the future.
All of the presenters emphasized a need for knowledge transfer from soon to be retired staff to be passed on to those who remain within an organization. Strategic planning can initiate some of this knowledge transfer as the speakers argued that succession planning should be a part of the strategic planning process.
My favorite part of this session was the use of a BASKET metaphor:
Behavior
Attitude
Skills
Knowledge
Experience
Talent
These areas should be mapped against strategic priorities and annual goals to align members of an organization towards a shared vision, even, and one could argue- especially in times of massive change and staff turn over.