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You've heard about "empty suits." What about "empty envelopes?"

On Friday, Fortune columnist Geoff Colvin posted a piece titled "Wanted: CEO of major corporation." This morning, the Wall Street Journal chimed in with a front page story called: "Perform-or-Die Culture Leaves Thin Talent Pool for Top Wall Street Jobs." A tidbit from Geoff Colvin's piece summarizes the major thrust of both articles.

"What is simply stunning is that neither company had a name in an envelope, the person who is chosen and prepped to take over in case the CEO gets hit by a bus."

Both articles discuss CEO succession. Both articles discuss the financial services industry. Which means that neither article goes far enough.

The problem isn't limited to CEO succession or to the financial services industry. It goes to the heart of the way we develop (or don't develop) leaders across the majority of North American businesses.

In most companies today, people are plunked into management roles because they're good at something else, like sales or budgeting. Either that or they're hired directly into a management role from college or graduate school.

Very few companies bother to determine whether a person has the aptitudes to succeed at the particular work of management. Even fewer offer the prospective new manager a look at the opportunities and consequences of promotion. Hardly any have parallel career tracks where an individual can gain increased money and prestige without going into management.

Training, if any, is usually the responsibility of the HR department and development is pretty much left up to the individual. If the new manager identifies some role models, finds a mentor or two and seeks out developmental assignments, great. If not, he or she probably just didn't have the right stuff.

Strong healthy companies, strong and adaptable enough to stand up to the winds of change, don't get that way because of great strategic plans. No human can see far enough with enough accuracy for that. Those companies are built by growing great leaders.

There are companies that seem to obsess over that. GE is often mentioned, but think about UPS, and PepsiCo and Colgate-Palmolive as well. They don't simply worry about having a name in the envelope for the top job, they develop names full of envelopes all the way down.

Addendum – 11/6/07

On Tuesday morning, the New York Times ran a story on this issue. The title of the Times piece was "No More Bench Strength." Times writer Louise Story came at the issue from the perspective of leadership development. The story is behind the Times subscription moat, but here's an excerpt.

"In corporate America, it may be time to retire the phrase “heir apparent.” For years, the idea of grooming a successor was a job requirement of a chief executive and a priority for a company’s board, who both wanted a smooth transition. That is no longer the case. Corporate governance specialists say that succession plans at many companies are sparse, and directors are increasingly turning to outside candidates when a chief executive leaves suddenly or is dismissed. “The odds of it working out these days are so slim that what’s the point of having an heir apparent?” said Peter Cappelli, a professor of management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and author of a new book, “Talent On Demand: Managing Talent in the Age of Uncertainty.”

Like the Fortune and Journal pieces, this story concentrates on the top of the corporate pyramid, ignoring the need for a well thought out, well executed leadership development program built on an apprenticeship model.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.

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Wally Bock has helped people learn to be great bosses for more than a quarter century. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless by teaching through a story and providing lists of resources for further growth.

Click here to find out more about Wally's coaching services.

For weekly tips and resources pointers, check our Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.

Click here to find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.