Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog

The 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.

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

Find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.

Find out more about Wally's coaching services.

It's the weekend and time for some reflective reading. The recent departures of CEOs at Merrill Lynch and Citi have sparked a number of conversations about CEO succession and the role of corporate boards. This week I'm limiting my selections to pieces that address those issues in a variety of ways. I'm pointing you to five thoughtful and thought-provoking articles and also to the best study I've seen on executive bench strength.

From the Wall Street Journal: Avoiding a Succession Crisis
"I would have been surprised by this situation before completing my latest research on CEO succession. But what I found is that many firms have not instituted a process for managing the development of potential leaders. Many have not even thought about the process of selecting a leader when the time comes for change. And as a result, they are as confused about who should lead the firm after succession as Merrill Lynch and Citigroup appear to be. One survey of Human Resource directors of large corporations indicated that 60% of the respondents lacked CEO succession planning."

From the Christian Science Monitor: Wall Street must learn from the boss's downfall
"Stan O'Neal's rise, and now even his fall, as CEO of Merrill Lynch show how far corporate America has come on race. But the O'Neal saga also reveals how far we still need to go in the governance of our corporations. "

From Forbes: Who's Next?
"Much like investing, succession planning isn't an exact science, tied to uncertainty, which is why we'll see it work seamlessly in some instances and fumble in others. It's difficult to pick the right leader in the context of a situation that hasn't actually happened yet. So we can't actually blame the boards of directors when a CEO fails and someone isn't waiting in the wings. Or can we?"

From the Associated Press: What Do We Expect of Boards?
"Huge write-downs and high-profile CEO departures will always spur criticism of public company boards of directors. Observers' hindsight will always be perfect and fault will be found. But the accusations hurled at the boards of Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. raise a tougher question than merely whether these boards acted appropriately: What do we now, in 2007, expect from U.S. public companies' directors?"

C.E.O. Evolution Phase 3
"After eras of empire builders and repair experts, management thinkers say the current environment demands yet another kind of C.E.O.: the team builder."

A couple of months back RHR International published a study titled "Filling the Executive Bench." It's one of the best studies I've seen and especially helpful in light of recent events.

The articles here all have powerful things to say, but they're not enough. We won't solve many of our succession problems until we move to an apprentice method for developing leaders.

An apprentice model acknowledges that most learning will happen on the job and then structures the leadership development program around that insight. Upwardly mobile leaders should be carefully chosen based on their aptitude and informed willingness to undertake leadership work. The primary form of development will revolve around on-the-job learning with emphasis on mentoring, developmental assignments and feedback.

It's not sufficient to provide training or frequent review of "high potential" leaders. We have to begin developing all our leaders, including those who will make careers in front line supervision and middle management, based on what we know about how the best leaders develop.

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.

Request your free copy of "Meeting the Challenges of the Boomer Brain Drain: An integrated approach."

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.