In my posting: Leadership Development and Technical Professionals, I talked at length about the challenges of moving from an individual contributor role in a technical environment to that of leader.  The combination of lack of support/mentoring afforded these early career leaders and the personal growth that it takes to recognize that the skills that got you here are not the skills you need for success going forward, make this one of the toughest and most mismanaged transitions in business.

Over coffee with a valued associate and accomplished technical professional who has moved beyond the early-awkward phase of being a new leader, we talked about a new leadership challenge that she was facing—finding her replacement.

This individual is in a great situation.  She’s gone from reluctant leader to a fast-track professional, and is now being asked to take on a broader role in her organization.  The admission ticket for this role is naming a successor, and this is where the challenges start.  The faster that she promotes someone, the faster she climbs up a rung on the ladder.  Make a bad choice, and the ladder may very well stop at that next rung.

It’s a classic case.

-The most obvious candidate has leadership experience, but does not respect his teammates, and tends to see the world and all related problems in only one way-his way.  Further complicating this scenario, this individual actually hired and managed my fast-track friend in another life.  There is some history here and maybe even a bit of loyalty coming into play.

-The second-best candidate to assume leadership is perceived to have the right attributes to lead, except actual leadership experience.  His peers respect him for his technical skills, however, my colleague’s concern is that the respect goes out the window if this individual is suddenly the team leader.  She is genuinely concerned that some of the more experienced team-members may leave in protest.

-The leader views hiring from the outside as an admission that she failed to develop the team members.  Additionally, she fears a similar “run for the doors” reaction here as in the case of promoting the younger team member.

Just about any long-time leader can relate to this classic succession dilemma, and most will likely cringe thinking about how they handled it on at least one occasion.  My friend’s motivation is to promote the individual with experience…her former boss.  She needs someone to step-in, take control and make things work so that she can focus on her new responsibilities.  When pushed, she admits that she will not have much time to coach or mentor, and the organization does not offer any formal leadership development or coaching programs.  Nonetheless, she is leaning to the individual with experience.

I disagree.  My counsel is to run away from this choice as quickly as possible.  The stated lack of respect that this individual has for his co-workers and a “my way or the highway” approach to getting things done can spell disaster for the team.  This individual does not pass the sniff tests on the attributes of a successful leader (I develop these in detail in my book, Practical Lessons in Leadership), and frankly, people don’t fundamentally change their nature regardless of role.

I like the idea of vetting the less-experienced internal candidate, and am not overly concerned about the notion of brining someone in from the outside if the situation requires this step.  I am also not overly concerned about either choice sending others heading for the door if the situation is handled properly.

My suggestions for my colleague are as follows:

-Sit down and think through what the nature of this job is now and will be during the next few years.  Will the situation remain relatively static or will this team be significantly challenged to change or grow to support the firm’s strategy objectives?  This assessment will begin to help frame the succession choice by forcing consideration of the type of individual (skills & experience) that will be required during this time-frame.

-Regardless of whether it is an internal or external hire, it will be important for my colleague to do a great job describing and supporting her decision to each member of the team.  This is a great chance to draw everyone into discussion about the firm’s strategy and the expected role that the team will play in executing this strategy.  The decision to hire from within or to go outside is best discussed in the context of the firm’s objectives. Ultimately, she may not convince everyone of her rationale, but they will respect her willingness to sit down and talk about the business, the department and the decision on who will lead the team.

-There are no career plans or individual development programs in place for any of the team members.  This is a great chance to take initiative and start the dialogue about “next steps” with each individual, and to begin identifying both formal and informal opportunities for them to develop needed skills and experience.  This is an on-going process and it should be baked into the new manager’s job description.

-If the choice is to stay with the younger, less-experienced individual, my colleague has no choice but to remain involved as a mentor and coach.  This is the critical point where so many leaders drop the ball, and the results are often a disaster for all involved.  Additionally, regardless of the firm’s lack of support or sponsorship for leadership development education and training, my colleague should find a way to invest in this early-career leader.  Training and education alone cannot teach someone how to lead, but they sure provide context for the role, challenges and potential pitfalls of leading.

The bottom-line:

Succession planning is not just the domain of executives.  Mid-level managers face this dilemma frequently, and making the right choice for the right reason is essential.  Human nature often steers us in the wrong direction on these sensitive issues.  It’s easier to rationalize promoting someone semi-qualified than it is to take the tougher path of finding and developing an individual that will benefit the firm for years to come.  More often than not, it is proper to fight your instinct and to look up at the hill and take the first step down the tough path.  Strangely enough, this path usually works out to be easier in the end.