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Wikipedia defines succession planning as having senior executive periodically review those in the next lower level to chart out a backup plan for each senior position. This is important because it often takes years of grooming to develop effective senior managers. On the superficial level, charting out a succession plan may seem to be a cakewalk. The reality, however, is starkly different. Even though many may not agree on the face of it, many CIOs are not comfortable with the thought of grooming their successor. Grooming ones successor and drafting a succession plan is like giving an organization a smooth and a comfortable cushion, and this is one of the most important decisions for any CIO. Not only does it involve investment in terms of passing on knowledge to the handpicked successor, but its also about identifying the person who will take the department forward along with the organization. All the four CIOs interviewed seem to have arrived at the consensus that even though grooming your successor is a tough call, but being cautious as to how one moves forward is the only way, lest one might end up grooming a replacement rather than a successor. The way forward is to test the mettle of prospective successors by placing them in crisis situations, followed by training and mentoring.

Honing Talent Internally
Subodh Dubey, CIO, K Raheja Group

One of the largest corporate houses, K Raheja Group has recently started the process of grooming the second and third rung of leaders. Even though succession planning was not looked at seriously within the group till recently, certain processes and practices have now been put in place to develop leadership capabilities in a focused manner, says Subodh Dubey, CIO, K Raheja Group.

Even within the IT team, the grooming processes are documented as a formal process with Dubey personally tracking them by listing the duties, line of responsibilities, and the capacity and efforts of team members working on various projects. This documentation process enables him to communicate effectively with the next in line team members.

Dubey has also taken the initiative to involve senior team members in the governance board, management level, and budget-related or approval meetings for making them familiar with the management requirements and their response to specific IT initiatives. He has also empowered his subordinates to attend and take charge of monthly review and issue meetings in his absence to help them enhance their decision making and leadership capabilities.

The HR department too, with the help of external trainers and consultants, has been contributing by organizing personality development and soft skills enhancement programs on a quarterly basis.

In addition, the team members are expected to attend at least three training sessions and six industry seminars every year to network and gain exposure. Their skillsets are mapped regularly and a study is undertaken to check whether they have translated their learning into their work, or further training is needed, and the level of grooming and handholding they need. Based on these findings, Dubey in consultation with the HR team, encourages the second line of leaders to go in for the right form of training modules.

According to Dubey, large enterprises should always groom talent internally, because if a CIO is hired laterally it may sometimes demotivate the senior members within the IT team. So companies today should hone and develop skillsets internally and make the CIO an integral part of the succession planning or the talent pipeline, he concludes.

Throw them a Challenge
Sunil Dhaka, CISO, ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank has been making concerted efforts in grooming the next generation leaders within the organization who will go on to leverage technology for business growth. Sunil Dhaka, CISO, who heads the information security group within the bank says that ICICI is one of the few large banks that has adopted a scientific approach towards grooming future leaders.

Apart from conducting the normal appraisal system and the customized leadership programs, the internal HR department along with the CISO has put in place a 360 degree feedback system. This not only looks at the individuals performance but also identifies the potential quotient that helps in identifying the right talent for the coveted job.

The HR team also comes up with specialized and niche technical training programs as well as soft skills enhancement modules as per the changing needs of the business and to keep the future leaders abreast with the latest in the industry.

Apart from this, Dhaka also looks at the performance of select individuals by giving them the opportunity to perform in different verticals on a rotational basis. For example, the selected candidates are made to work on a rotational basis within the various verticals in the information security group such as security architecture and design, security operations, information security management, information security metrics, etc.

Dhaka believes that the leadership team should be committed towards providing the necessary leadership skills and soft skill training to these selected candidates and groom them to be able to take over the reins of the organization one day. He also says that as a CISO, it is very important to provide challenging opportunities for the future leaders. One part of the challenge is to identify the right talent, and the second part is to create the right opportunities which are challenging enough for the young leaders to deliver upon, he avers.

Strategizing your Succession
Shailesh Joshi, associate vice president and head, IT, Godrej Properties

That succession planning is key to a companys overall business strategy cant be denied, and Shailesh Joshi, associate VP and head of IT, Godrej Properties too nods in agreement.

Joshi feels that succession planning is an ongoing strategy designed to provide well-trained, experienced and highly motivated people ready to step into key positions. Godrej too is working on a clear succession planning policy. As an organizational policy, there seems to be a lot of thrust within all departments to have a succession plan ready, he says. Joshis department too is at an advanced stage of implementation of a succession plan.

There are of course important issues which one cant ignore when drawing up a succession plan. At the stage of preparing the plan, one needs to describe the functions and responsibilities as well as list down the set of skills, interests, and abilities that the successor needs to possess. Also, what one needs to bear in mind is that the future leader may need to have totally different skills and attributes from that of yours, as the business may be at a different stage of its life when he/she takes over.

The job would be far easier if a potential successor is already a member of the team. Regardless, one has to be as objective as possible about the list you compile, says Joshi.

Joshi feels that before putting the succession plan on paper, a thorough discussion on the intentions and the changes that one envisions with everyone who will be affected, is also crucial. By consulting with employees, youll reassure them about the steps youre planning to take. Once the plan is complete, put it in writing. This not only reduces the possibility of any misunderstandings, but also ensures that everyone involved is clear about the future of the business and where he/she fits in. Then of course, you need to mark the main points of the plan to everyone concerned, so that the succession process gets off to the right start. says Joshi. Preparing a timetable for transition process and seeking outside advice are also things which Joshi advices before finalizing things.

No Tolerance for the Unethical
Yateen Chodnekar, CIO, head of technology, real estate and corporate services Mangal Keshav Group / Bank Muscat

One needs to be careful while handpicking a successor, lest he/she might become more of a replacement, believes Yateen Chodnekar, CIO, head of technology, real estate and corporate services Mangal Keshav Group / Bank Muscat. Grooming ones successor and drafting a succession plan, is like giving an organization a smooth and a comfortable cushion. Perhaps this is one of the most important decisions for any CIO.

Not only does it involve investment in terms of passing on knowledge to the handpicked successor, but is also about identifying the person who will take the department forward along with the organization.

Chodnekar, too believes, that even though it is a tough call but being careful about how one moves forward is the only way to go ahead, lest one might end up grooming a replacement rather than successor.

His sixteen years of experience of working with international BFSI multinationals like Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, HSBC Japan, Boston Consulting Group as head of their technology departments gave Chodnekar enough exposure to handle the challenges that lay therein. Oversmart juniors are aplenty. They have no ethics and often try to axe the branch on which they are sitting, he says. It is exactly these kinds of people that a CIO should avoid.

Chodnekar is following a conscious strategy to train and educate those rising through the ranks. One of my goals is to groom the next generation of IT leaders in my organization to ensure that success of my IT department and the companies competitive edge is in safe hands, he adds. The first step is identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate, followed by creating a plan that includes training and mentoring.

Chodnekar has drafted a practical plan to groom the successor to easily take over the role in a manner that will not disrupt the growth of the company. The purpose of this plan is to make this process fluid and easy, he says. Moreover, written plans motivate team members, who know they have a way up through the organization, and that the organization wants them to take more challenging roles.

Urvashi Kaul, Priya Kekre
urvashik@cybermedia.co.in

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