Future-Proofing Leadership: Enhancing Organisational Resilience

In this article, Karen Chiew, Head of Leadership Advisory, Asia Pacific, and Dr Alistair Clark, Head of Chief People Officer Practice Australia, share their insights on the importance of a thoughtful succession planning framework to ensure a business-resilient organisation.   

The pace of change, unexpected crises and economic uncertainty that face today’s business world have never been as fierce. Disruption also comes through the inevitability that in any organisation, leaders will eventually transfer, be promoted, retire, or resign, leaving their positions vacant. When this happens, how prepared are organisations to ensure business continuity? Succession planning is an organisation’s best strategy to future-proof against these continuous challenges and rapid change. 

A Deloitte publication revealed that while 86% of leaders believe that leadership succession planning is an “important” or “urgent” priority, only 14% of them believe they do it well. 

At Odgers Berndtson, we surveyed high-profile CHROs from diverse industry backgrounds to discuss their succession planning practices, specifically exploring the robustness of their respective companies’ mechanisms for managing their leadership pipelines. 

The survey findings in this article indicate a clear intention for comprehensive, proactive talent management and succession planning processes. However, common challenges include the need for more thoughtful management of the leadership pipeline, enhancing the C-Suite's ability to coach and sponsor high potentials in the organisation, and aligning talent with role availability.