Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the young age of 20. Though he remained king of Macedonia for only about 13 years, he changed the course of history and geography with his military exploits. At its peak, his empire stretched from Macedonia to Egypt and from Greece to a part of present-day Pakistan.
It is said that Alexander the Great wept when he was told that there was no land left for him to conquer. Almost everything in the known world was under his reign already. He died young. On his deathbed, when he was asked to whom he will bequeath his empire, he replied, “To the strongest.”
Is it any surprise then that the territorial gains Alexander accumulated during his short life of 32 years were squandered off owing to internal strife amongst his generals and family?
Alexander remained undefeated in life. However, his legacy would have been even stronger and longer had he thought about succession when he had the time.
That was 323 BC. Unfortunately, things are not too different in 2019. CXOs having a strong successor in place are still an exception than a rule.
Think about it. How many leaders you know have identified a successor and are working with the identified successor with a plan? I do not know many leaders and organizations who are doing it consciously and doing it well. And I am a leadership consultant who meets a lot of clients.
Succession is not seen as a business risk, but it indeed is one, and quite a big risk at that.
Four succession essentials to apply
Leaders build succession readiness by doing the following:
Make leadership a business imperative: In Global Leadership Forecast (GLF), the world’s largest leadership study, conducted by DDI, EY, and The Conference Board, only 14 percent of leaders believed that they had the talent to execute their strategies.
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Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av Indian Management.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Trust is a must
Trust a belief in the abilities, integrity, values, and character of any organisation is one of the most important management principles.
Listen To Your Customers
A good customer experience management strategy will not just help retain existing customers but also attract new ones.
The hand that feeds
Providing free meals to employees is an effective way to increase engagement and boost productivity.
Survival secrets
Thrive at the workplace with these simple adaptations.
Plan backwards
Pioneer in the venture capital and private equity fields and co-founder of four transformational private equity firms, Bryan C Cressey opines that we have been taught backwards in many important ways, people can work an entire career without seeing these roadblocks to their achievements, and if you recognise and bust these five myths, you will become far more successful.
For a sweet deal
Negotiation is a discovery process for both sides; better interactions will lead all parties to what they want.
Humanise. Optimise. Digitise
Engaging employees in critical to the survival of an organisation, since the future of business is (still) people.
Beyond the call of duty
A servant leadership model can serve the purpose best when dealing with a distributed workforce.
Workplace courage
Leaders need to build courage in order to enhance their self-reliance and contribution to the team.
Focused on reality
Are you a sales manager or a true sales leader? The difference, David Mattson, CEO, Sandler® and author, Scaling Sales Success: 16 Key Principles For Sales Leaders, maintains, comes down to whether you can see beyond five classic myths that we often tell ourselves about selling.
