How can you ensure a diverse pool of candidates for succession planning?

To have different kinds of people ready for important jobs in the future, be fair and include everyone when hiring. Help people learn and grow, especially those who might not have had as many chances. Let people work in ways that suit them, and make sure leaders treat everyone fairly. Keep an eye on how well the company is doing with having different kinds of people and make changes if needed. Support groups where people with similar backgrounds can help each other. Check often to make sure everyone has a fair chance. Show that having different kinds of people is important in how the company talks and acts. Give credit to people who make the workplace more diverse and friendly.

I’m going to ask a very unpopular question. Is there any evidence to support the idea that having a diverse selection of candidates for succession planning leads to a better succession plan? I don’t disagree that working with a diverse group can lead to better decision-making in a lot of areas: some areas have been ignored in the past, and we’re gaining great benefit from that diversity. But what I have found is that focusing on “diversity” can cause selection committees to ignore key factors that lead to success. That’s my experience. We shouldn’t hire someone just because of who their parents are or who they go to bed with. We should hire people based on their abilities.

You can't solve the problem at the end, it needs to be planned for in the beginning. To ensure a diverse pool of possibilities for succession planning, one should have a honest diversified hiring practice. Hire across the spectrum to assess and develop the future leaders.

It is important to involve your people in this process early and often. If we are talking to them about what they see for their future this will help us to understand a couple of things. First, what will we need to do in order to get them there? What training and support can we offer them to continue their path of growth in the trajectory that we need to for succession planning. Secondarily, does what they want to do make sense for the organization and if not, can we move them in a direction that will allow them to feel fulfilled while helping the organization excel. Our people are our greatest resource, how we use them will determine both our success and theirs. Start this from the first conversation and interview process.

It's important to not just think about the knowledge and skills but also the strengths and the networks/resources people would have which would help them do a great job over time. This encourages hiring teams to consider wider pool of talent and consider flexibility in how the role should be structured to enable a wider range of needs to apply for these roles.

In my experience if you can assess what strengths and/or specific expertise is lacking that can support the team, this can help enormously to reaching targets. Because if the sum of the parts is greater than the parts, that’s when it gets interesting.

Adding diversity to your succession planning starts with adding diversity to your own thinking. We often get miopic in our qualifying criteria. The individual has to know our products, or our customer base, or our business system. This may rule out great internal candidates in other divisions, other disciplines, etc. It is better to consider what soft skills will make the candidate successful. What new mindsets and approaches can a candidate leverage to bring fresh approaches to the role. We sometimes make allowances for external hires knowing they may not check all our boxes, but are reluctant to apply this thinking internally. Challenge your own paradigm of what good looks like.

Jack Welch's 4E and P framework is the simplest model of identifying and developing leaders. These are: Energy, an ability to Energize, Edge, an ability to Execute and Passion

Each candidate reporting to a role has the potential to grow. The role holder has the responsibility to coach, mentor, train and guide the candidates for the next level. It cannot be left to HR and L&D; they have to be partners in the development process, driven by the role holder

Having developed leadership programmes which are designed to reach a more diverse population I found one of the critical areas to be the self-perception of potential participants. A complete programme of improving awareness and identifying potential is needed. It has to be designed to reach many who just won't consider themselves worthy or capable. This is often due to poor self perceptions about their abilities and possible career options. This may require mentoring, coaching and intensive self-awareness training. The payoff for this effort and investment are some incredible leaders. The ability to develop such leaders can attract a more diverse pool of csndidates for many roles as the reputation of the organisation becomes known.

If organization is multinational, it is important to assign a region specific leader who understands the market and people values. Most importantly, Leadership Pipeline Model by Ram Charan is the best model of building diverse and skilled team across the industry and region.

Walk the talk. Diversity is not only a metric to show but a way of life for your organisation. While creating policies, look for ways in which these can be implemented and built into the organisation culture

We all have different experience, background and biases so make sure you involve others that are not like you from the start. Finding candidates from areas that are not traditional is more difficult and setting up a pipeline so that there is a consistant supply for you and others is preferable. Retention is important and you may have to rethink this area as well.

Create a "Diversity Accelerator Program": Establish a structured initiative focused on identifying and nurturing talent from underrepresented groups. Offer mentorship, training, and networking opportunities tailored to accelerate their professional growth. Actively involve them in strategic projects and provide exposure to leadership roles. Ensure the succession planning process includes unbiased criteria and metrics to evaluate potential candidates. By fostering a diverse talent pipeline, organizations can proactively address inclusivity, tapping into a wealth of perspectives that enrich leadership dynamics and contribute to a more representative and innovative future.