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Selecting your next CEO or senior executive is one of the most critical decisions that you will make. Whether an 'insider' or an external candidate is selected, best practice requires that both options are considered.

Steps

We recommend that our clients conduct a regular and thorough review of internal talent, and design and implement development programs with the sole purpose of ensuring a pipeline of the strongest internal candidates.

CEO succession planning is the Board’s responsibility. Directors need to form a view on potential candidates and to do this in a transparent and structured manner.

Every Board needs to systematically prepare top performers for more demanding roles. Having several strong internal candidates provides evidence that the Board and senior management have been successful in developing and testing high performers through a variety of projects and stretch assignments. The experiences, skill-sets, and leadership competencies of short listed candidates must be deliberately articulated and aligned with the vision and strategy for the company’s future. Stress-testing or market-testing internal talent with external talent ensures a best-in-class solution. In addition, the Board needs a detailed understanding and first hand knowledge of each candidate. It perhaps goes without saying that even if the above practices are adopted the Board must also plan for an emergency.

We pride ourselves on our ability to help our clients rigorously examine the best internal and external options. As our clients' most trusted leadership adviser we are able to offer a comprehensive suite of bespoke services which are customised to their particular needs and objectives.

Should our clients require assistance in helping them develop a succession map then Johnson is also able to assist them in developing and maintaining a list of external and internal talent for short and medium term succession needs.

The steps involve:

• Agreement of project scope, roles covered and assessment criteria
• Assessment of internal talent against agreed criteria
• Mapping of external talent, augmented by market intelligence
• Maintaing a list of available talent for short-term and long-term planning
• Dedicated talent database for business-critical roles, managed jointly by Johnson and the client