What do you feel is the key to developing and operating a great succession planning program?

"While I consider myself an expert on the planning stages and identifying the positions that should have succession plans, I think the toughest and most crucial step for an organization in a succession planning process is identifying top talent to groom into new roles along their career journey. Understanding that my role as the consultant for your clients would be over, it would be my job to educate the clients on how to identify, train and measure successes down the road to make the program a true success."

"Every good project needs a solid plan to be successful, and this is no different for implementing a succession planning process. A good succession plan starts with involving leadership to identify the future needs of the business and for which positions succession planning should occur. Another key insight towards building a great succession planning program is taking into account the future growth and development of the business. With these things in mind, I can help the clients here at DDI build solid succession planning programs."

Familiarize yourself with the DDIs approach. As they advertise to their clients on their website, "Promote Based on Data. You need data to make objective decisions about who is ready for promotion and who has leadership potential. With DDI assessments, you get rich data and validated results, all while ensuring your evaluation process is fair. The result? A fair process for promotion, more diversity in your pipeline, and agility to face new business challenges."