Succession Planning and Leadership Development: The Best of 2014

It’s been a great year here at Success Labs. We’ve enjoyed helping the most clients in our history with leadership development plans and succession planning, and sharing our tips and ideas with you along the way. As 2014 draws to a close, we want to thank our clients, readers and friends for their support and for making this such a productive year.To mark the end of 2014, I looked back at our most popular blog posts from the year -- the ones full of information about best bosses and how to effectively develop your employees. Give them another read to prepare for a great 2015 and keep coming back in the new year to learn even more about succession planning and leadership development.What Makes for the Best Bosses? “The list of attributes employees associate with their best bosses are the ones you’d typically classify as “soft skills.” They’re a person’s feelings, emotions, insights and overall emotional intelligence. But for leaders and managers, I would argue those soft skills are actually the hard skills necessary for success. Yes, managers and leaders are there to get the work done and create results, but the reason they’re in that role is they have the capability to lead the team of people working for them. And that’s why those soft skills are so important.”How to Complete a Knowledge Transfer Plan: “Once the knowledge has been transferred what do you want it look like? How will you recognize that you’ve completed the knowledge transfer plan? Are you going to use a test or assessment, or let your employee complete a project while you shadow and watch the progress? You need to decide what the end result will be and include a description of it in the knowledge transfer plan. Make sure to include all the steps and information for the person receiving the knowledge so she can have it as part of her development plan.”Effective Career Development Discussions: Questions to Ask Your Employees: “Consider asking questions from three different categories to have a complete, well-rounded discussion. Good questions are the foundation of an effective career development conversation. The right questions will help you get the information you need to understand your employees, show them you care about their professional development and make suggestions about how they can best progress.”Why Leadership Competencies Must Evolve as You Advance: “I once worked with a newly promoted project manager who had an adversarial relationship with the company’s maintenance department when an effective project manager should work in cooperation with their maintenance department. He saw it as, ‘I’m just pushing for results.’ But, I say, ‘at what cost?’ He was creating so much noise in his relationships that he was no longer effective.”How to Create a 90-Day Transition Plan for an Employee Who's Just Been Promoted: “The first step in a successful transition plan is to have structured conversations with your promoted employee about the new position. The purpose of these conversations is to ensure your employee is clear about the department’s goals and objectives, as well as the top priorities and objectives for the new position. Talk about communication, how you’d like to be kept informed and how your employee would like to be communicated with. Do you prefer more or less information when you receive reports? What method of communication — email, verbal — do you prefer? How often do you want updates? This is an important part of the process that bosses often forget.”Want to learn more about succession planning and leadership development? Read our new guide:Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.