Effective Successor Development: Accelerating Growth and Enriching the Talent Pipeline

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Abstract: Developing effective successors represents a critical yet often overlooked organizational leadership responsibility essential for sustainable growth and business continuity. This article examines both the research foundations and practical applications of successor development strategies across organizational levels. Beginning with strategic workforce planning to identify future leadership requirements, the process continues through skills gap analysis to understand where internal talent may need enhancement. The methodology for identifying high-potential employees moves beyond mere performance evaluation to consider learning agility, cognitive abilities, and interpersonal skills as key predictors of leadership success. Structured mentoring programs and targeted developmental experiences—including rotational assignments, special projects, and simulations—provide candidates with opportunities to develop and demonstrate leadership capabilities. Finally, rigorous assessment protocols determine successor readiness while informing ongoing development needs. Though resource-intensive initially, comprehensive successor development programs represent a strategic investment that enriches talent pipelines and positions organizations for continued success through effective leadership transitions.

Developing successors is a vital organizational leadership responsibility to ensure sustainable growth and continuity. Yet many companies struggle with identifying and grooming internal talent.

Today we will explore the research foundation and practical application of effective successor development to accelerate growth and enrich the talent pipeline.

Planning for Leadership Needs

Effective successor development begins with strategic workforce planning to understand future leadership requirements (Rothwell, 2010). Leaders must assess succession needs across all levels and functions to determine quantity and types of leaders required. This includes evaluating anticipated retirements, expansions into new markets or products, and promotions that open positions. Industry trends also impact needs; for example, advanced manufacturing requires leaders adept in analytics and robotics.

Conducting a Skills Gap Analysis

Once leadership needs are defined, conduct a skills gap analysis to understand if internal talent matches requirements (Rothwell, 2010). Map current skills against future needs across hard/technical and soft/leadership competencies. Technical skills like engineering, coding or equipment operation are often acquired through training but leadership skills like strategic thinking, communication and collaboration take longer to develop. Significant gaps signal a need to focus development efforts on building certain competencies internally or consider external hiring.

For example, a technology company determined future leaders needed strong problem-solving, data analysis and team management skills to lead Agile development teams. An internal skills analysis found some technical competencies were lacking but leadership skills were weakest. As a result, the company invested in coaching, mentoring and project management training to strengthen soft skills across high potentials for tech leadership roles.

Identifying High Potential Employees

Once needs and gaps are clear, organizations must identify internal candidates with greatest potential for success in key leadership roles (Silzer & Church, 2009). While technical skills are important, focusing solely on past performance can overlook future potential. Multiple factors predict leadership success:

• Relevant Experience and Performance: Relevant experience and a track record of strong performance signal an ability to take on increased responsibilities successfully. This includes breadth and depth of roles as well as completion of impactful projects. For example, in manufacturing, leaders who have rotated through various plant positions demonstrate operational versatility.

• Learning Agility and Adaptability: Learning agility and willingness to adapt to change are top predictors of leadership potential according to research (Silzer & Church, 2009). Leaders must be open to new approaches, technologies and industries. Assessing curiosity, initiative and resilience when faced with challenges provides insight into a candidate's agility.

• Interpersonal Skills and Cognitive Ability: Research also shows cognitive abilities like problem-solving and interpersonal skills like collaboration, coaching and influencing others strongly relate to leadership success (Silzer & Church, 2009). Leaders gain a holistic understanding by evaluating performance reviews alongside cognitive/behavioral assessments and multi-rater feedback from direct reports and peers.

Mentoring and Developmental Experiences

Once high potentials are identified, organizations must provide strategic opportunities to develop requisite skills for future leadership roles. Formal mentoring programs pair emerging leaders with senior executives to support career guidance, networking and skill-building (Allen et al., 2006). Mentors work with mentees to establish developmental goals and action plans focused on areas like leading strategic projects, facilitating workshops or relationship management.

Developmental experiences allow application of new skills in controlled settings away from day-to-day responsibilities. For example:

• Rotational assignments expose candidates to different functions, business units or technologies to expand perspectives

• Special project teams working on innovation or process improvement initiatives exercise leadership and collaboration

• Acting assignments allow "trying on" a leadership role on a temporary basis under supervision

• Development centers use simulations and assessments to practice skills in a safe environment

In manufacturing, candidates engineer solutions through a plant-wide kaizen event and then facilitate the implementation process with production teams. In technology, candidates spearhead beta testing new products working closely with customers for feedback. Such experiences enhance skills while reducing risk to the organization.

Assessing Readiness

To determine if successors have gained necessary capabilities, organizations must establish an assessment process (Charan, 2008). Assessments provide structured feedback to candidates on strengths/weaknesses and readiness for potential promotions. They also inform customized development planning.

Assessment methods may include:

• Multi-rater/360-degree feedback surveys collecting perspectives from direct reports, peers, managers and customers

• Structured interviews evaluating competencies, accomplishments and challenges faced

• Case studies and simulations examining decision-making under pressure

• Competency-based assessments measuring leadership skills quantitatively

For example, in assessing manufacturing leaders, a plant supervisor candidate works with an assessment consultant to analyze operational scenarios involving production issues, quality targets or labor negotiations. Readiness determination considers input from various stakeholders and candidate self-reflection on lessons learned.

Those deemed ready assume broader leadership positions while others continue development. By linking assessments to strategic succession planning, organizations make "best-fit" promotion decisions to maximize growth and sustainability.

Conclusion

Effective successor development accelerates organizational growth by proactively addressing future leadership needs. With a foundation of strategic workforce planning, high potentials can be identified and systematically developed through mentoring, experiences and assessments. When applied across industries like manufacturing and technology, the process enrich talent pipelines by cultivating internal candidates ready to succeed in critical leadership roles. Although resource-intensive initially, successor development represents a wise long-term investment to ensure continued business success through people.

References

1. Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lentz, E., & Lima, L. (2004). Career benefits associated with mentoring for protégés: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(1), 127–136.

2. Charan, R. (2008). Homegrown leaders. Harvard Business Review, 86(5), 27.

3. Rothwell, W. J. (2010). Effective succession planning: Ensuring leadership continuity and building talent from within (4th ed.). AMACOM.

4. Silzer, R., & Church, A. H. (2009). The pearls and perils of identifying potential. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2(4), 377-412.

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Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.

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Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2026). Effective Successor Development: Accelerating Growth and Enriching the Talent Pipeline. Human Capital Leadership Review, 21(2). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.21.2.4