Succession Research Is There Best Practice.pdf

A research study from the late 1990s.
But little has changed.
Succession management continues to be an organisational challenge.
But some findings to point to promising directions

1. Best practice
succession &
resourcing:
Survey
Results

2. Contents
Executive summary
The Business Context Of Succession
Succession Outcomes
Succession Processes
Research background
The business context of succession:
strategic opportunities and risks
Succession outcomes
Senior management resourcing and retention
Breadth and depth of management capability
Succession coverage for key roles
Succession processes
Business planning
Identifying critical roles
Review and decision making processes
The role of the top team
Identifying potential
The use of information technology
Management development
Conclusions & implications
Appendix
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3. 2
©AM Ltd 1999
© AM Ltd 1999
No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means,
photomechanical, photocopying, digital scanning or otherwise
without the prior permission of the copyright holder.
Published by AM Ltd
AM Ltd
Founded in 1993, we are a strategic HR Consultancy
providing a range of services in:
Sresourcing & succession planning
Smanagement audits and organisational surveys
Smanagement assessment and development.
Our generic managerial questionnaires examine:
Spreferred operating approach
Srange and depth of business experience
Scompetency effectiveness
S360º evaluation of management impact and style
Our generic Organisation Development questionnaires
examine:
Scustomer service
Sclient service
Schange management
Smanagement of intellectual capital
To contact us about the results of this survey or our
general consultancy services please:
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
You can write to us at:
AM Ltd
4 Essex House
Cromwell Business Park
Chipping Norton
OXON
OX7 5SR

4. Executive summary
The Business Context of Succession
Succession Outcomes
Succession Processes

5. Past US research has indicated the business benefits of
attending to succession management. AM Ltd has now
undertaken a survey of succession management
practice in the UK. Forty organisations and 200
individuals took part leading to the provisional results
in this report.
Findings are reported in three areas:
Sthe business context of succession: how do
organisations perceive their strategic strengths and
limitations and what is the relationship with
different succession responses?
Ssuccession outcomes: the benefits organisations
receive from succession
Ssuccession processes: an evaluation of the
effectiveness of the activities supporting succession
THE BUSINESS CONTEXT OF
SUCCESSION
Companies in the sample saw their strategic strengths
as being: raising levels of customer service
effectiveness, maximising the efficiency of internal
operations and building influence to protect their
corporate reputation.
Organisations were less positive about their ability to
originate breakthrough products and propositions and
take them to market. Conducting major
organisational change was also seen as a limitation.
In summary respondents felt less positive about their
ability to develop and deliver aspirational,
entrepreneurial strategies, but more confident about
incremental gains in efficiency and customer service
based business plans.
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6. SUCCESSION OUTCOMES
SMost senior management resourcing, is done on an
internal basis. Most organisations have an immediate
internal talent pool from which to draw.
SMaking senior level appointments (top 200 executive
roles) created difficulties for over half respondents that in
turn created business problems. Businesses with well-
regarded reputations have less difficulty in this respect.
STurnover of senior managers is currently not seen as a
major issue. Senior managers are content, in the main,
to remain with their current enterprises.
SCoverage for key management roles is seen as an issue.
Nearly half felt that they were ‘exposed’ with little
confidence in the nominated successors. Succession is
partly about assessing and managing risk, respondents
perceive a clear future risk.
SNine out of ten organisations believe the technical
knowledge and skill available to them is at, or above the
average for the industry sector.
SOnly 22% believe that the available leadership and
general management from senior groups is superior to
the industry average and nearly one third felt that what
was available was below or far below the average.
SBusiness is not predictable. Around a quarter of
respondents reported that senior managers would find it
difficult to adapt to new and unfamiliar business
challenges. This has implications for management
development and the sort of managers being recruited.
What kind of skills and knowledge do managers need to
be flexible in responding to future business
contingencies?
SUCCESSION PROCESSES
SLinks between business planning and succession-
resourcing are not well developed. Less than one in six
believes the business planning process provides an
effective mechanism for considering future resourcing
requirements. Over half reported that business planning
makes minimal or no reference to succession-resourcing
plans.
SBusinesses need to have identified the roles that are of
fundamental importance to their strategic priorities.
However, only a third said that key roles had been
identified and that changes in these roles were discussed.
SOver half of respondents reported either no, or only
occasional, processes were in existence to review
succession information and agree action.
SCEO’s and the top team appear to make little
contribution to succession and resourcing activity. Half of
respondents said that either no, or minimal time, was
committed by this group to these activities.
SOrganisations are interested in identifying ‘potential’
inside their organisations. But this tends to be done in an
ad-hoc rather than systematic and validated way.
SThe use of IT to support succession management is
remarkably small. Only 3% of respondents felt their use
of IT here, was good or excellent. The arrival of web-
based databases and web-based HR Outsourcing may
represent an opportunity to improve this area
significantly.
SRespondents indicated that a substantial majority of
organisations focus on developing a selected few, rather
than committing training and development resources to
all senior managers. The approach seems to be about
concentrating efforts on those individuals who the
business sees as most valuable.
SIn terms of development activities, organisations use
formal training most. Experienced based approaches
such as job moves, projects and coaching are used more
modestly.
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8. Research background
Research background
Research Evidence
Friedman – Human Resource Management,
1986
Collins & Porras – ‘Built to Last’ – 1996
Organisational experiences of resourcing
and development throughout the 1990s
AM Ltd Research Programme

9. RESEARCH BACKGROUND
The business press focuses continuously on corporate
success and failure. Perceived declining current
business performance is often laid at the door of the
CEO who, after appropriate ‘speculation’, eventually
resigns. By contrast, much rarer is the resignation of
the entire senior team. Rather, poor business
performance and the consequent embarrassment this
causes to major shareholders, becomes entwined with
a desire to drive out the culpable individual CEO. In
the recent past, examples from NatWest Group,
Barclays Bank and Marks and Spencer in the UK come
to mind.
In this circumstance organisations resort, not to a
well-planned approach, but to something far less
systematic. The chairman, himself a former CEO
agrees to hold the reins temporarily. The search for a
new CEO is offered to the international head hunting
profession. In some well-known companies an
internal power struggle conducted partially in public
is seen as the most effective way of organising the
managerial future.
These responses may not be the best way to handle the
situation. Our view is that succession goes to the heart
of a business’s future; that businesses need to make
choices about the strategy they wish to pursue, the
capability they are building and to give themselves
options about who may be the successors the business
may want to call upon in the future.
Few senior teams see this as the key hot issue until too
late. But getting to grips with management succession
gives a lever on an uncertain future.
However, succession has variously been perceived and
caricatured as:
Corporate Rhetoric
the annual process which organisations undertake to
produce a piece of paper for the benefit of external
regulators, the remuneration or equivalent committee
to indicate that contingency plans are in place in the
event of the unfortunate loss of key executives.
Typically, the formal succession plan is too inflexible
to respond to changed business needs, is so quickly
dated that it lacks future business relevance and bears
little relationship to the decisions and appointments
subsequently made.
Political Reality
the secretive process occurring in the executive
washroom in which judgements are made about
emerging talent - who’s got the ‘right stuff’; who
hasn’t; political deals are brokered to decide future
appointments, and which invariably fly in the face of
the organisation’s formal employment policies and
practices.
Human Resource Aspiration
the set of initiatives usually introduced by the Human
Resource function in which substantial effort is
directed to the assessment of the management
population, the design of databases, the presentation
of graphical and statistical reports and the
announcement of new career development policies.
Here sincere intentions are not matched by the reality
of decision-making. Management expectations are
raised but often with little impact on resourcing
practices.
In view of these caricatures it has been easy to dismiss
succession. Two trends however indicate that
succession - and the elements which make it up - may
require closer attention.
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10. RESEARCH EVIDENCE
research into the impact of robust succession practices
and processes on long-term corporate performance.
Succession - its underpinning activities and their
relationship to business outcomes - does not have a
substantial research base. However, two research
programmes - albeit within the US - are worth
highlighting.
Friedman - Human Resource
Management, 1986
In an analysis of 235 US firms, Friedman examined
the relationship between organisational effectiveness
(using a number of measures of financial
performance and corporate reputation) and different
dimensions of succession activity. The objective was to
identify differences in succession systems between high
and low performing firms.
Although Friedman acknowledges that correlational
analysis does not provide definitive causal
relationships, it is clear that high and low performing
organisations have different approaches to succession.
Most notable are: the involvement of the CEO; the
quality, frequency and follow up of Human Resource
reviews; line ownership and accountability; internal
development; executive compensation linked to
subordinate development. All are more characteristic
of high performing organisations.
Collins & Porras - ‘Built to Last’ - 1996
In their research to identify the attributes and
dynamics of ‘visionary’ organisations, i.e.
organisations with a consistent track-record of
corporate success, Collins & Porras contrasted a
number of visionary organisations with a comparison
group. Within the spread of general issues and
findings, they examined the extent of management
continuity in the visionary and comparison
companies, evaluating :
Swhether CEOs have been appointed from inside or
outside
Sevidence of what they call ‘post heroic leader
vacuum’ - the dearth of highly qualified successors
after the departure of a strong CEO
Sattention to management development activity
Sevidence of succession planning and formal CEO
selection mechanisms
Their analysis indicated that ‘visionary companies
develop, promote and carefully select managerial
talent grown from inside the company to a greater
degree than the comparison companies… Visionary
companies were six times more likely to promote
insiders to chief executive than the comparison
companies.’
To put this observation into financial context Collins
and Porras also examined the shareholder gains
accrued from businesses they evaluated as Visionary,
comparison companies and the general market.
Tracking a notional $1 investment in the stocks of
these three groupings invested and held from the
beginning of 1926 to the end of 1990 they report that
the ‘$1 in the visionary companies stock fund would
have grown to $6,356 - over six times the comparison
fund and 15 times the general market’. So in the past,
if not in the future, visionary companies with their
focus on succession made investment and business
sense.
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1
2
3
4
ORGANISATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF
RESOURCING AND DEVELOPMENT
THROUGHOUT THE 1990S
Key drivers have been:
Sgreater attention to the costs associated with senior
management turnover and recruitment.
HR functions have become increasingly sophisticated
in the calculation of the costs and benefits of their
activities and impact. The cost analysis - direct and
indirect - of the loss of senior executives and
subsequent external recruitment vis a vis the costs of
training and development and retention has proven a
telling experience. In simple economic terms, internal
development to provide an ongoing supply of future
management capability, makes better financial sense.
This of course does not imply that external
recruitment is never a sensible resourcing tactic; but
rather, reliance on it has proven an expensive policy.
Sthe recognition of values in creating and
sustaining corporate culture and in reinforcing a
common management approach and style.
Despite the hype surrounding mission statements,
shared values and culture change, there is
nonetheless, clear evidence that organisations who
have been successful over the long-haul have a clear
sense of who they are, what they do, how they operate
and how they manage the business. This sense of
values - and the expectations they establish
throughout the organisation - does not come easily. It
demands consistency of leadership, which requires
continuity and an emphasis of development from
within.
AM LTD RESEARCH PROGRAMME
It is in this context - of US research highlighting the
business significance of succession practices and
increasing interest from UK organisations - that AM
Ltd initiated a long-term research programme to
evaluate the impact of succession practices and
processes on long-term business performance within
UK organisations.
The research is in four phases
Initial Fact Finding
Sdesk top review of available research
Sinterviews with top team/HR representatives
across UK organisations to review experiences
and identify priorities
Survey of Succession Best Practice Ssurvey design to provide a systematic analysis
of organisational priorities, succession
outcomes and resourcing practices
Sobtaining measures of corporate performance
Process mapping
Sdetailed examination of the sub processes
comprising overall succession and resourcing
Sconducting a cost benefit analysis of internal
and external resourcing
Long term follow up Scomparison of succession activity and impact
against future corporate outcomes
u
u
u
This report summarises the second phase of our
research programme, presenting the results from a
survey of over 40 organisations based on almost 200
respondents. In reporting these findings and
provisional conclusions, interpretative comment is
also provided, based on the outcomes of a series of
interviews and workshops (representing 130
organisations) conducted over the period 1996 - 1999.

12. The business context of
succession: strategic opportunities
and risks
Strategic opportunities and risks
Summary
Strengths
Limitations
Implications

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STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES & RISKS
Succession activity takes place in a context, a context
reflecting the organisation’s strategic ambitions, the
business challenges it faces, the activities of its
competitors and its dominant culture. Different
business circumstances will require different
resourcing priorities and succession responses.
The survey firstly then addressed this context to
determine:
Swhich business and organisational activities were
seen as strengths; which as limitations?
Swhich forces are perceived as significant in
shaping corporate culture?
Show corporate strengths and limitations are viewed
vis a vis competitors?
Respondents rated 64 statements reflecting a range of
commercial and organisational activities and risks,
and results were profiled against AM Ltd’s Business
Types model, a framework which summarises eight
patterns of strategic activity.
In reviewing these results, their correlation with
succession outcomes and processes will be
highlighted. Whilst this analysis does not establish
cause-effect relationships, the association of business
strengths and limitations with succession activity will
be indicative of specific trends.
SUMMARY
Strengths
The overall pattern is one in which organisations see
their strengths as primarily in market-place
consolidation - raising levels of customer service
effectiveness and using their influence to build and
protect market-share - and in maximising the
effectiveness of the internal operation - gaining
incremental improvements in efficiency through
financial management, administrative consistency
and work-force capability.
Limitations
Organisations are less positive about their
entrepreneurial activity - in transforming imaginative
business concepts into a programme for growth and
expansion - as well as in conducting major-scale
organisational change.
Implications
In so far as the sample is representative of UK
commerce, it suggests that ‘UK PLC’ is more suited to
improving current business operations than to either
transforming existing ones or originating
breakthrough ideas and delivering these
entrepreneurialy to the wider market place.
Visionary
recognising shifts in the
future market-place and
generating ideas for the
next generation product
development: redefining
the rules of business
success through radical
futuristic thinking;
formulating a long-term
imaginative strategy
based on new business
concepts
Explorer
an entrepreneurial
approach which
translates a corporate
vision into a strategy for
growth; moving the
business on to increase
market share and
profitability through an
appreciation of
expansion options;
identifying and
exploiting commercial
opportunities
Builder
a focus on customer
service and on the entire
delivery process;
revitalising the
organisation’s approach
to sales and marketing
and service support;
committed to established
and maintaining market
position through effective
distribution, pricing and
advertising
Lobbyist
developing influence
within the business
community and
representing the
organisation’s interest
effectively to key stake-
holder groups; recognises
the impact of political
developments on the
organisation’s room for
strategic manoeuvre and
responding with the
effective public relations
and corporate
communications

14. This has implications for management and business
strategy development. What is the objective of
management development? Is it to support current
strengths or to extend capability into areas of relative
weakness? Managers in the survey sample, as we shall
see are more effective in certain key areas. They have
had more experience and exposure to managing
particular strategies. Should succession and
development effort be directed towards enhancing
these areas? Or should succession and development be
aimed at creating strategic flexibility and ensuring the
organisation can respond to unknown business
challenges? To use a gaming analogy, in playing
‘succession roulette’ where should the resourcing
chips be placed; on areas which are currently
strengths; areas which are limitations but need to be
developed; or spread across all areas to prepare for
future uncertainties.
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Integrator uniting staff around a shared vision and common purpose; developing processes for building organisational capability through people; building on the energies and talents of staff through effective training and development, recognition and communication
Regulator
establishing financial
discipline and
administrative control
over organisational
processes; ensuring
consistency and
standardisation through
the implementation if
financial management
and administrative
efficiency
Trouble-shooter
focusing the organisation
on its fundamental
operation; identifying
and removing peripheral
business activity in
streamlining the
organisation; addressing
problems of low
productivity, inefficiency
and cost
Architect
utilising technological
capability to redefine the
internal operation;
creating new business
processes around
technology, new
organisational structures
and changes in working
practice; challenging the
organisational status quo
and developing
fundamentally different
operating approaches
Visionary
Explorer
Builder
Lobbyist
Integrator
Regulator
Trouble-Shooter
Architect
Visionary
Explorer
Builder
Lobbyist
Integrator
Regulator
Trouble-Shooter
Architect
LIMITATION STRENGTH
Business Context

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16. Succession outcomes
How easy or difficult are organisations finding it to
make senior level appointments?
Is senior management resourcing primarily from
within or outside the organisation?
What levels of management turnover are reported?
What degree of succession coverage exists for key
roles?
How is the breadth and depth of management
capability evaluated?

17. 3%
predominantly
come from outside
the organisation
(more than two
thirds of all
appointments)
9%
largely come from outside (more than one half of all appointments)
25%
a mix of internal and external appointments (half and half)
29%
largely come from inside (more than one half of all appointments)
34%
predominantly come from inside the organisation (more than two thirds)
SENIOR MANAGEMENT RESOURCING & RETENTION
SENIOR MANAGERS - INTERNAL/EXTERNAL
In the last five years, senior (top 200) managers have:
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Sthe overwhelming pattern is one of internal
resourcing; 63% of organisations make over one-
half of appointments from within
Sonly 12% rely more on external recruitment to
make more than one-half of appointments, and
only 3% have a substantial reliance on resourcing
from outside
Smaking a senior level appointment is a moment of
truth for any organisation. An external choice may
suggest the need for change in direction, that
internal candidates are simply insufficiently
prepared or lack the capability to perform as
required. An internal choice may seem a safer bet
with an individual who is better known to the
enterprise and represents a degree of continuity
with the past.
Swhere attention is paid to ‘people activities’ – at
all levels these organisations are able to reap the
benefits in terms of internal choice, reduced risk
through not needing to explore unknown external
candidate options, increased speed of selection at
senior and reduced costs at the point of
appointment. Clearly this can be over done. In
some circumstances outside appointments are
needed. When the external environment demands
a different area of technical specialism, fishing in
the internal pool may not produce candidates with
the required knowledge. Internal candidates can
also become complacent, competing in a closed
market place without external competition.
The relationship with perceived corporate performance Organisations high on Integrator activities - ensuring that organisational effort is unified around a common purpose and commitment to raising levels of employee capability and motivation - are more likely to resource from within.

18. SENIOR MANAGEMENT RESOURCING & RETENTION
FILLING KEY APPOINTMENTS
In the last 5 years, how would you describe the ease or difficulty of making senior level (top 200) appointments?
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S29% of organisations have had little or no
difficulty in making senior level appointments
Sbut the majority of respondents (57%) report some
difficulty which has created moderate business
problems
S14% of organisations report considerable - extreme
difficulty with substantial - major business
problems
Sthe overall pattern indicates that in the immediate
term, organisations are managing to resource
senior level positions
Snonetheless there is a wide variety of outcomes,
with almost one-third of organisations
experiencing few problems, over one-half
moderate problems, and a significant minority
having major problems
Sin appointing managers to senior roles
organisations need to feel confident about the
choice made and the range of candidates
available. This is a key moment for those
responsible for management acquisition, retention
and development. The lack of planned succession
for a key executive position can have a massive
organisational cost: direct and indirect. Succession
is both to optimise the use of talent and to
minimise disruption to businesses.
The relationship with perceived corporate performance Organisations reporting themselves as more effective in Lobbyist activities - possessing good relationships with a variety of stake-holder groups and in building external bridges - unsurprisingly experience fewer problems in making senior level appointments.
Is it the case that a successful corporate reputation encourages a higher
quality of response to the organisation? This in turn produces a stock of
managers with higher capabilities that in turn reinforce the organisation’s
reputation. This may be the case if managers are acting as consumers of brands of
potential employment, making choices based on what they know or believe to be true
about a company.
2%
with extreme
difficulty which has
created major
business problems
12%
with considerable difficulty which has created substantial business problems
57%
with some difficulty which has created moderate business problems
27%
with little difficulty with minor business problems
2%
with no difficulty with no discernible problems

19. SENIOR MANAGEMENT RESOURCING & RETENTION
MANAGEMENT TURNOVER
Thinking about the number of senior managers who have left your organisation in the last five years, how
would you describe turnover?
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Smanagement turnover does not seem to represent
a particular problem; only around 3% of
organisations report the loss of many key
managers
Salmost one-half of respondents report the loss of
almost none or very few key managers
Salthough a number of organisations in our sample
report retention difficulties, and are embarking on
initiatives to identify the specific causes of turnover
and proactively manage retention, most
organisations are currently experiencing few
problems
Slow turnover enables higher levels of stability and
continuity. Managers get to know each other, their
way round the enterprise and the culture of the
company develops coherence and consistency.
Decision-making, networking through the
business, knowing where to go and how to get
things done are much easier.
Sconversely, very low levels of turnover can present
problems. Posts become blocked and career
progression paths closed. Highly talented
managers wanting to progress and make an
impact are held back by current incumbents
performing if not at an unacceptable standard,
then not at ‘stretch’ levels.
The relationship with perceived corporate performance Organisations who view themselves as more capable in Integrator and Lobbyist activities report lower levels of senior management turnover. The combination of effective people policies and practices and a positive reputation within the business community is indicative of better executive retention.
3%
the loss of many
key managers
17%
the loss of several key managers
36%
the loss of a few key managers
41%
the loss of very few key managers
3%
the loss of almost no key managers

20. SUCCESSION COVERAGE
CRITICAL ROLES: COVERAGE
In your organisation’s evaluation of key roles, how would you assess its succession coverage in the short-
medium term (up to 3 years)?
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Sno organisation reports excellent coverage, and
only 3% report that several successors have been
identified for most key roles
Salmost one-half of responding organisations report
that coverage is mixed, with a lack of depth of
coverage for key roles
Sa further 49% of organisations report that they are
‘exposed’, with little confidence in the nominated
successors
Sin most companies the need is for good ‘stocks’ of
managers capable of responding to a variety of
strategic opportunities. Management succession
can be likened to warehouse management and
deployment: moving the right managers into the
right roles at the right time. As business markets
change, leadership requirements need to change.
As boom turns to recession the leadership agenda
changes from expansion to cost containment or
harsher retrenchment. Organisations with broader
ranges of management stocks can respond better
to these changes.
Sthe flip side is that maintaining large stocks of
management available for succession coverage can
be expensive. And can the organisation satisfy the
career aspirations of many capable people?
The relationship with perceived corporate performance Organisations viewing themselves as more effective across all eight areas of the Business Types framework report better levels of succession coverage. Here cause and effect are difficult to disentangle. Does activity in improving succession coverage result in improved corporate performance? Or does better corporate performance raise levels of management capability and provide greater depth of coverage?
Overview of senior management resourcing & retention and coverage
Currently organisations are not experiencing significant problems in making senior level appointments. But most respondents are having some difficulty which is having a moderate business impact. The emphasis in resourcing is primarily from within. (This however may be a reflection of the sample which is skewed towards well established organisations rather than start-ups).
Organisations are however less optimistic about future resourcing. Coverage for key roles is seen as ‘mixed’, with
almost one half of respondents reporting they are distinctly exposed.
10%
hugely exposed:
with no obvious
succession for key
roles
39%
exposed: successors can be identified at a ‘pinch’ but with little confidence
48%
mixed coverage: successors identified from some roles but lacking depth of coverage for others
3%
good coverage: several successors identified for most key roles
0%
excellent coverage: succession in depth with a choice of successors capable of moving into all key roles

21. BREADTH AND DEPTH OF MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY
SPECIALIST/PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE
(the possession and application of relevant technical knowledge and skill)
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Sonly 7% of organisations report that their senior
managers are below the industry average;
conversely only 1% believe their senior managers
are far superior to the industry average
Sthe overwhelming majority - 90% - think their
senior managers are around or above the industry
average
Sthis area - perhaps neglected by the generic
business education/management competency
movement - is now gaining more attention as
knowledge and technical know-how is
acknowledged as increasingly critical in
pioneering innovation. Arguably it is highly
advanced levels of professional expertise far
superior to industry conventions which will make
the competitive difference
Sa key issue for organisations will be in agreeing
which elements of technical know-how to retain
internally and to integrate with mainstream
organisational activity and which should be out-
sourced.
0%
far below the industry average
7%
below the industry average
50%
around the industry average
42%
above the industry average
1%
far superior to the industry average

22. BREADTH AND DEPTH OF MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY
LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS
(the possession and application of broad-based general management/leadership skills and capability)
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Shere organisations are less positive about senior
management capability with only 22% reporting it
above or superior to the industry average
Sand almost one-third of respondents report it
below the industry average
Sevaluations of general leadership capability were
then broken down into the eight leadership
approaches reflected in AM Ltd’s Business Types
model (see Appendix for detailed breakdown).
Respondents are fairly positive about senior management capability in Regulator, Builder and Trouble- Shooter activities; but much less positive about management effectiveness in the areas of Visionary, Explorer and Architect.
The implications here are that responding enterprises pursuing more incremental improvement strategies,
where the focus is on customers and where service delivery needs to be done in a tightly controlled way, feel
more confident about the ‘stock’ of leadership talent available to them. Also organisations feel up beat about
leadership effectiveness where the implicit strategy is about corporate rescue or turnaround.
On the other side of the coin, where leadership is needed to deliver strategies involving greater degrees of
change, where the enterprise wants to create a business that shapes the future through innovative products
and services, organisations are less convinced about the talent available.
1%
far below the industry average
31%
below the industry average
46%
around the industry average
21%
above the industry average
1%
far superior to the industry average
Visionary
Explorer
Builder
Lobbyist
Integrator
Regulator
Trouble-Shooter
Architect
Visionary
Explorer
Builder
Lobbyist
Integrator
Regulator
Trouble-Shooter
Architect
LIMITATION STRENGTH
Management Capability
0-100 100 50-50

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BREADTH AND DEPTH OF MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY
BREADTH AND DEPTH
Thinking about the most senior 200 managers, how would you describe the depth and breadth of its general
management capability?
S11% of responding organisations believe the breadth and depth of general management capability is above
the industry average
S30% of organisations report it is below the industry average
Sdifferent strategies and organisational structures will require different resourcing responses: should the
organisation operate through the talents of a few exceptionally talented individuals or draw on strength in
leadership depth
Sthis pattern supports the common observation and also reflected in levels of medium term succession
coverage that organisations are tending to rely on a smaller pool of executive talent to provide corporate
leadership
1%
far below the industry average
29%
below the industry average
59%
around the industry average
11%
above the industry average
0%
far superior to the industry average

24. BREADTH AND DEPTH OF MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY
STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY
For your most senior 200 managers, how would you describe their overall management flexibility in facing up
to a variety of new and different business challenges which your organisation may face in future?
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Saround one-quarter of respondents report that
senior management will find difficulty in adapting
to new and unfamiliar business challenges
Sanother quarter believe their senior management
population will adapt fairly easily to new and
unfamiliar business challenges and one half that
they possess a degree of flexibility
Sthe issue of strategic flexibility represents the
fundamental dilemma at the heart of succession:
Sthe future cannot be predicted completely;
leadership competency and expertise
requirements are therefore not certain.
Nonetheless organisations still need to plan
and develop leadership capability.
Sdo organisations ‘place their leadership bets’
across a range of different leadership
approaches and expertise to provide
responsiveness to possible eventualities (but at
the risk of spreading its resources too thinly) or
does it place its bets to focus its leadership
capability and build specific expertise (but with
the risk that its approach is not relevant to
future challenges)?
Management capability and its relationship with perceived corporate performance Organisations reporting themselves as more effective in Integrator activities unsurprisingly report themselves as having greater management capability in most areas: professional expertise, leadership effectiveness and strategic flexibility.
Clearly the possession of a management group capable of responding to
many different challenges is good news when positioning for the future. The issue
may be that the development of talent across professional expertise, leadership
effectiveness and strategic flexibility comes at a price. The acquisition and development of
this strength, involves the application of resources in terms of time, intellectual endeavour and money.
2%
will find it difficult
to adapt to new
and unfamiliar
business
challenges24%
will find it fairly difficult to adapt to new and unfamiliar business challenges
47%
a degree of flexibility in adapting to new and unfamiliar business challenges
26%
will adapt fairly easily to new and unfamiliar business challenges
1%
will adapt very easily to new business and unfamiliar challenges

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26. Succession processes
How effectively does the business planning cycle
integrate corporate priorities with resourcing
requirements?
Are the roles which are and will be critical to future
business success identified, and resourcing
requirements known and specified?
What actions result from the review of succession
priorities? Does the debate about succession drive
development?
How much commitment is there from the top team to
think long-term about organisational succession and
resourcing?
How objectively is potential identified and evaluated?
What use is made of Information Technology to
support succession analysis and decision making?
How is management development resource prioritised
and which management development activities are
most often deployed in support of succession?

27. SUCCESSION PROCESSES
BUSINESS PLANNING
How well integrated is succession and resourcing with the corporate business planning process?
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Sonly 16% of responding organisations believe the business planning process provides an effective mechanism
for considering future resourcing requirements
Sover half of organisations report that business planning makes minimal or no reference to management
resourcing
Sthe pattern here is of a business planning process driven by financial forecasting and in which resourcing
issues are if not ignored, then not sufficiently addressed
Possible causes:
Sthe corporate planning process is typically initiated
and coordinated by Finance, a function not
historically known for its attention to people issues
Sthe bureaucracy of many corporate planning
processes constrains the flexibility required for
responsive resourcing practices
Sthe HR function has lacked the ‘strategic clout’ to
put management resourcing on the business
planning agenda
Ssenior management find it difficult to make the
connections between its strategic plans and the
kinds of management talent it requires
Challenges:
Sthe need for the HR function to have closer
dialogue with other functions in formulating
strategic plans
Sthe introduction of performance indicators based
on resourcing and succession activity and
outcomes to focus executive attention on key
drivers of future corporate success
Sthe need for improved information flows to provide
well-presented summaries of likely strategic
resourcing scenarios to inform the business
planning process
10%
corporate business planning focuses on the ‘numbers’ and ignores the implications for short-medium term management resourcing
44%
focuses on financial targets with minimal reference to the resourcing implications
30%
includes a review of resourcing requirements but with little meaningful detail
15%
addresses short to medium term resourcing in a fairly effective way
1%
the corporate business planning process ensures that short and medium term resourcing implications are considered and addressed in detail

28. The relationship with corporate performance
More entrepreneurial organisations - higher in Visionary and Explorer activities
– make better links between succession and business planning. Is this an
example of well-integrated resourcing shaping priorities for business
innovation and expansion; or do entrepreneurial strategies require tight
relationships between business planning and succession management?
Have organisations who are expanding through innovation learnt that this
strategy is more difficult to pull off without talented people? And therefore
business plans need to address succession.
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Business planning
and strategic
resourcing rather
than being two
sides of the same
coin are operating
as separate and
disconnected
activities

29. Sthe majority of organisations are attempting to profile out the key requirements of critical roles
Showever, 26% of respondents report that analysis is either non-existent or ad-hoc
Sonly 3% of organisations feel confident that changes in role requirements are updated frequently
SUCCESSION PROCESSES
IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL ROLES
How clearly identified are the critical roles within your organisation? (Critical roles are those which represent
activities of fundamental strategic importance to the organisation)
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Possible Causes: Sit is questionable how responsive some job
evaluation and role profiling methodologies are in
translating shifting strategic changes into new role
specifications
Sa lack of clarity in overall organisation design
philosophy which finds it difficult to define the
mix of role requirements - strategic contribution,
management competency, technical know-how
and industry knowledge - at different levels
Sthe tendency to allow role requirements to
accommodate the personal strengths of the current
role holder. Whilst this is inevitable and indeed
may be desirable at senior level, unchecked it can
allow a new structure to emerge based on personal
preferences and political manoeuvring rather than
organisational imperatives
Challenges:
Sto go beyond ‘point scoring’ evaluation for
remuneration decisions to develop role profiling
processes which are responsive to shifting business
circumstances and reflect role holder requirements
Sto agree criteria to determine which senior roles
are critical strategic priorities and where most
resourcing effort needs to be directed
The relationship with corporate performance Organisations who view themselves as better in Regulator activities - effectiveness in financial control and administrative consistency - are more likely to review regularly the requirements of critical roles.
5%
no analysis of key roles and no clarity about requirements
21%
minimal analysis with only an ad hoc view of requirements
42%
some analysis and role requirements identified in broad outline
29%
effective analysis: key roles identified and changes in requirements discussed
3%
comprehensive analysis: key roles identified in detail and changes updated frequently
CURRENT PROCESSES FOR ROLE
PROFILING ARE LARGELY DOMINATED BY
JOB EVALUATION SYSTEMS RATHER THAN
PROVIDING A MEANINGFUL BLUE-PRINT TO
INFORM RESOURCING DECISIONS

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SUCCESSION PROCESSES
SUCCESSION REVIEW AND DECISION MAKING
How would you describe the processes within your organisation for the review of succession information and
agreeing actions?
Sover half of responding organisations report that there are no processes in place, or if such processes exist
these result in no planned action
Sonly 11% of organisations have established processes with effective action planning
Possible Causes:
Sa lack of clarity about the accountabilities and
responsibilities of the review process
Spolitical tensions which make it difficult for
reviewing managers to discuss and agree corporate
wide resourcing requirements
Sreviewing executives have minimal exposure to the
population undergoing review
Sinsufficient time and effort is devoted to the
preparation, meeting and follow up
Challenges:
Sagreeing the scope of the succession review forum
to define specific roles, responsibilities and
outcomes
Sclarifying which resourcing issues demand
corporate attention and which are the
responsibility of business units
Scollating and presenting data about managers,
roles and succession coverage in a format which
engages the review process in a debate which
addresses corporate opportunities, risks and
vulnerabilities
Sestablishing ground-rules and meeting disciplines
to maximise team productivity
The relationship with corporate performance Organisations reporting themselves as more effective in Architect activities - using Information Technology to drive radical changes in the organisational infrastructure - have better processes for succession review and decision making.
10%
no processes are in place to review and discuss succession issues
46%
processes provide occasional review and discussion but with no planned action
33%
processes provide meaningful review and discussion with ad hoc action planning
9%
processes are in place to review succession issues in an informed way with fairly effective action planning
2%
relevant succession issues are reviewed and actioned regularly as part of mainstream top management debate
A lack of systematic action planning indicates
that succession reviews may be little more
than an exercise in ‘paper shuffling’

31. SUCCESSION PROCESSES
THE ROLE OF CEO AND TOP TEAM
How would you describe the role of the CEO and top team in your organisation’s succession & resourcing
activity?
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S50% of organisations indicate that the CEO and top team spend either no or minimal time in this area
Sonly 1 in 10 of organisations report that the CEO and top team devote substantial commitment and time to
the activity
Sno respondents in the sample see the top team as giving succession extensive commitment and time
Possible Causes:
Sthe top team is busy and finds it difficult to
prioritise time to the discussion of the resourcing
and development of future management capability
Sthe top team fails to appreciate their role and the
impact it might have
Sthe top team focus is on maximising short term
share-holder value rather than ensuring the long-
term health of the organisation
Challenges:
Sto ensure the top team appreciates its ‘stewardship’
role in securing the organisation’s long-term
business health
Sto educate the top team in building awareness of
the impact that effective succession practices have
on long-term organisational success
Sto structure the top team agenda to ensure time is
given to build in regular resourcing reviews
The relationship with corporate performance Explorer organisations - companies who are more ambitious about growth, expansion and diversification - report greater commitment from the CEO and top team in the debate about succession priorities. Does a growth strategy drive an interest in succession among top management; or does greater Board commitment for succession make it easier for organisations to plan future expansion?
2%
no commitment and time invested
48%
minimal commitment and time
40%
moderate commitment and time
10%
substantial commitment and time
0%
extensive commitment and time
SUCCESSION & STRATEGIC
RESOURCING IS NOT A
TOP TEAM PRIORITY

32. SUCCESSION PROCESSES
IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL
Identification of Potential
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Sthe vast majority of organisations attempt to identify potential - only 3% of respondents report the absence of
any assessment of potential
Sbut the identification of potential is either ad-hoc or largely based on managerial discretion and judgement
Sthe popularity of ‘advanced’ assessment methods - psychometric tests, competency-based interviews ,
assessment centres - does not appear to have had a substantial impact on succession systems. Only 17% of
organisations think that potential is assessed in any systematic way
Possible Causes:
Sthe confusion over the meaning of ‘potential’: is
potential defined as ‘promotability’ or does it
mean something else?
Sthe proliferation of assessment frameworks -
competency descriptors, psychometric profiles,
leadership models, etc - which has made the
integration of data into a meaningful summary of
effectiveness and future contribution difficult
Sthe lack of systematic evaluation to evaluate which
assessment methods are most predictive of future
leadership effectiveness
Sthe ambivalence of many performance
management systems and the mix of objectives -
appraisal of previous contribution, rewards,
development planning, etc - suggests that most
line managers find the assessment of potential
difficult and troublesome
Challenges
Sto provide a specific organisational ‘blue print’ of
potential which indicates what mix of experience,
technical know how, industry experience and
management competency is most predictive of
future leadership effectiveness
Sto integrate appraisal outcomes with other
assessment activity to provide meaningful
summaries of career potential
Sto establish more robust processes for the
validation of assessment methods and evaluation
of their long-term predictive power
The relationship with corporate performance Organisations with greater effectiveness in Regulator, Trouble-Shooter and Explorer activities report more effective systems for the identification of potential. There seem to be two themes here. Organisations who recognise they’re in trouble - and require cost-cutting efficiency gains to restore their future - are more likely to be systematic in the identification of potential; it is perhaps more of a short-term imperative to locate the talent they need to secure the immediate business. Those organisations planning growth and expansion are also more likely to put in place processes for the assessment of managerial potential - they are motivated to locate the managers to support the business’s expansion efforts.
3%
no identification of potential takes place
37%
identification of potential is largely based on individual management discretion and judgement
43%
identification of potential attempts to integrate different sources of information but in a somewhat ad hoc way
16%
identification of potential is based on the integration of different sources of information in a systematic way
1%
identification is based on fully integrated and up- to-date information from different sources which is well-validated
The significant expenditure in assessment
technology is not being exploited fully to
identify and develop managerial potential

33. SUCCESSION PROCESSES
INFORMATION FLOWS AND DATABASE MANAGEMENT
How would you describe the use of Information Technology to support succession management?
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Sno responding organisation believes that excellent use is made of IT in support of succession, and only 3%
think it is good
S39% of respondents make no use of IT, and almost one half of organisations make minimal use
Sthe substantial investment in IT to support personnel systems has largely failed to address resourcing and
succession
Possible Causes:
Scommercially available dedicated software to
manage succession data has proven highly
expensive and lacking the flexibility to respond to
organisational change
Sthe secrecy of much succession activity has
encouraged ‘black book’ information and a
reluctance establish rigorous and defensible
databases
Sthe Human Resource function - and its historical
lack of expertise in IT - has little interest in the
disciplines of data capture, storage and retrieval
Challenges:
Sto map out information flows for the collation,
integration and updating of succession data
Sto utilise the requirements of the Data Protection
Act to establish defensible systems for information
capture, analysis and storage
Sto exploit Intranets (and the Internet) for the rapid
exchange of information between the organisation
and individual managers
The relationship with corporate performance Organisations with greater strengths in Architect type activity are, unsurprisingly, more positive about their use of IT to support succession management.
39%
no use of IT to support succession
45%
minimal use of IT
13%
moderate use of IT
3%
good use of IT
0%
excellent use of IT
HR functions are failing to exploit the
potential of standard office software
to capture, store, analyse and present
key data at an individual level as well
as at a corporate level

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SUCCESSION PROCESSES
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
PHILOSOPHY
The organisation’s approach to management development at senior levels is:
32%
focusing resources
on the highly
select few
32%20%14%2%
committing extensive resources to the development of all senior managers
Sthe vast majority of organisations are directing resources towards the few rather than throughout the
management population
Sonly 2% of organisations state they are committed to providing substantial resources to the entire senior
management group
Possible Causes:
Sthe squeeze on budgets in the early ‘90s which
focused limited management development
resource on those individuals seen as particularly
critical to the future leadership of the organisation
Sa move away from the ‘scatter-gun’ development
activity characteristic of much 1980s HR practice
Sthe growing recognition that some managers are
more ‘developable’ than others and the allocation
of resource to those who will most benefit
Challenges:
Sto avoid the creation of a ‘them and us’ culture in
which organisations direct limited resources to the
executive ‘superstars’ and ignore the development
of the management majority
Sto determine which activities are particularly
powerful in driving the development of different
types of manager
Sto utilise development initiatives as a catalyst in
building and reinforcing a dominant
organisational leadership approach and style

35. SUCCESSION PROCESSES
ACTIVITIES
Which activities are most utilised by your organisation in the development of its senior managers?
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10%
hardly at all
34%
minimal
44%
moderate
10%
substantial
2%
extensive
9%
hardly at all
35%
minimal
41%
moderate
14%
substantial
1%
extensive
18%
hardly at all
44%
minimal
30%
moderate
8%
substantial
0%
extensive
4%
hardly at all
15%
minimal
54%
moderate
25%
substantial
2%
extensive
11%
hardly at all
39%
minimal
41%
moderate
9%
substantial
0%
extensive
Projects
Job moves
Coaching
Training
Business education

36. Sthe overwhelming finding is the lack of substantial development at senior management levels
Smost use is made of training, with 81% of organisations making at least moderate use of training activity
Sleast use is made of coaching and business education; only 8% of organisations make substantial use of
coaching; and only 9%, substantial use of business education
Sperhaps most surprising is the relatively limited use made of proactive job moves (almost one half of
organisations make either none or minimal use).
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©AM Ltd 1999
Possible Causes: Slimited management development resource is
allocated towards junior and middle management
rather than senior executives
Sthe perception that senior managers - by virtue of
their corporate status - do not require any further
development to improve their effectiveness
Sfunctional barriers and political blockages which
limit the potential of cross functional moves to
maximise career development
Challenges:
Sto review the relative costs and benefits of internal
development vis a vis external recruitment
Sto move beyond formal training events to involve
top management fully in the education and
development of the organisation’s next generation
leadership
Sto identify the development needs of medium term
successors and put in place meaningful career
development activity
The relationship with corporate performance Organisations with greater strengths in Integrator activities generally report themselves as embarking on more management development activity - across all aspects. Organisations more positive about their Lobbyist activity make greater use of business education.

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38. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS
The Business Context
Succession Outcomes
Succession Processes

39. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
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This phase in our research programme does not assess
the impact of succession activities and outcomes on
financial performance; that will be reported on in due
course. The aim at this stage is to highlight the range
of activity across organisations, identify relationships
between perceptions of corporate performance and
succession practice and indicate key trends for future
evaluation. Nonetheless a fairly clear picture does
emerge:
The Business Context
UK organisations see themselves as fairly effective in
making ongoing incremental improvements in
operational efficiency and in enhancing the customer
service proposition. Organisations report themselves to
be less effective in the introduction and management
of high level business change - either in breaking into
new markets with imaginative products and services
or in overhauling the internal infrastructure around
the application of IT to reengineer structures,
processes and work practices.
The questions emerging from this are:
Show relevant is this pattern of organisational
strengths and limitations to the future?
Swhat are the implications for current and
emerging management capability?
Organisations look well positioned to pursue a strategy
of consolidation and ongoing incremental
improvement. Pioneering strategies, which will move
the organisation into different product and market
activities - on this analysis - look more troublesome.
This reflects the obvious truth that consolidation
strategies are easier to undertake than pioneering and
innovative ones.
For organisations planning to embark on more
adventurous strategies the issue will be the source of
relevant experience.
This debate raises issues for those running businesses,
strategic planners and Human Resources.
Should strategic planners acknowledge managerial
limitations and pursue strategies within the
capabilities of current managers? Or in formulating
strategy should the business be bold and quickly
acquire and develop new organisational capabilities
and leadership expertise and skill?
The issue then for businesses is whether to continue
incremental strategies – fine-tuning the business
formula and supporting organisational infrastructure
– or to formulate more adventurous strategies which
redefine the rules of business engagement.
Incremental strategies look the safest bet in the sense
that organisations report that they have the
management capability in place to deliver. But,
incremental strategies can quickly be overcome by
more imaginative and venturesome strategies.
Clearly the crafting of strategy is an iterative process
which balances market opportunities and risks, with
current strengths and limitations in organisational
and leadership capability and above all with the top
team’s own strategic aspirations. The fundamental
issue at the heart of this analysis is the role that
succession can and should play in supporting business
success.
Is succession about:
Sensuring the ongoing supply of managers to
deliver current strategy
Sproviding a diversity of management talent to
respond to as yet unknown future business
challenges?
Organisations need to respond to these issues in ways
that make most sense to them. However what is
clearer is that the analysis of future strategic options
must incorporate a robust view of the role that
organisations want succession want to play.

40. Succession Outcomes
In reviewing organisational perceptions of senior
management resourcing, turnover and succession
coverage, a gulf emerges between:
confidence in making short-term appointments and
retaining key executives and reservations about future
management capability and succession coverage in
the medium term.
One view here is that senior talent at the top of
organisations is in short supply. That organisations
feel vulnerable if key people were to leave and are
unsure about how their managers would cope and
react if very different business challenges were in play.
It is clear that maintaining an excellent corporate
reputation can help attract better people and reduce
the likelihood of people leaving.
Succession Processes
The review of the range of different succession
processes and systems does not present an
encouraging picture. Organisations are struggling to
establish a sustainable ‘infrastructure’ which ensures
that succession is an integral aspect of mainstream
business planning and decision making and which
genuinely shapes and directs the development of its
next generation management.
Specific concerns are:
The top team and business priorities
Sthe relative lack of commitment and time from the
top team to agree succession priorities and inform
key resourcing decisions
Sthe weak connection between business planning
processes and succession review and decision
making
Information capture and flows
Sthe failure to exploit IT - even at a relatively
simple level - in the capture, storage, retrieval and
presentation of succession data
Sa lack of systematic assessment to identify
potential and validate the longer-term impact of
resourcing decisions
Management Development
Sthe relatively high reliance on formal training to
drive development and the minimal use of more
experiential forms of learning, in particular, job
moves
Why is this agenda is so formidable? One issue may be
that senior managers, even if they do consider
succession important, lack an appreciation of what is
required of them. Familiar with how to interpret
management information, read a set of accounts, or
consider the implications of market research data, the
world of succession and the issues within it remain a
closed book.
Often succession seems to represent a set of
organisation charts with a number of potential names
pencilled in alongside current incumbents. However
static charts and successors do not reflect
organisational reality. Business changes, roles
disappear or are re-configured. Succession needs to be
able to respond to a set of contingent future
circumstances. For most organisations, even though it
needn’t be, this remains an insoluble conundrum and
hence is not addressed.
Senior teams have other issues at the forefront of their
minds. This may be any aspect of the strategic
agenda. How well supported are top teams by HR
professionals and commercial consultancies? Perhaps
too many HR departments have been unable to move
beyond presenting competency profiles or
psychological assessments to provide the top team
with the kind of information it needs to genuinely
inform it about the current and emerging capability
the organisation requires to build and sustain success.
In succession-resourcing senior teams need to be
helped to understand how this activity will benefit the
organisation. HR professionals need to see succession
from the senior team’s point of view and to use
models that permit flexibility and relate directly to the
business needs. There is a need to go beyond
competency discussions to see managers as
representing solutions to business opportunities and
issues.
Use of psychometrics and assessment data to identify
potential in organisations is wide spread. However at
senior levels and specifically to drive succession, there
is clearly much to do. In particular, organisations
need to re-visit the issue of potential – the current
value a manager has to an organisation – on a
regular basis; to keep themselves informed about
managers potential contribution to the business as
business requirements change.
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For many, formal training remains the primary
source of management development. This approach
clearly has its place. However we were surprised by the
modest support given to experienced based solutions.
Succession is about moves through organisations.
Respondents indicated that job moves were relatively
infrequent in usage as a means of development; only
12% said they made substantial or extensive use of
these. Given that managers have reported in the past
that experience is the most powerful source of
personal development it is surprising that enterprises
are doing relatively little to exploit this.
This survey has indicated that succession is underused
as a source of potential competitive advantage to UK
businesses. Succession activity and outcomes do
correlate with perceptions of corporate performance;
for those organisations who have made gains in
resourcing and development, the business impact is
clear.

42. APPENDIX
Senior Management Capability

43. NEW BUSINESS
CONCEPT DEFINES
THE FUTURE
Goes for
diversification
in pursuit of
an ambitious
growth
strategy
A RETHINK IN
CUSTOMER SERVICE
IMPROVES MARKET
SHARE FOR
Public relations effort
reassures the concerns
of stake-holders
VISIONARY
recognising shifts in the future market-place and generating ideas
for the next generation product development: redefining the rules
of business success through radical futuristic thinking;
formulating a long-term imaginative strategy based on new
business concepts
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12%
a major limitation
47%
a limitation
29%
neither a strength nor a limitation
12%
a strength
0%
a major strength
10%
a major limitation
48%
a limitation
23%
neither a strength nor a limitation
19%
a strength
0%
a major strength
1%
a major limitation
16%
a limitation
29%
neither a strength nor a limitation
51%
a strength
0%
a major strength
3%
a major limitation
28%
a limitation
31%
neither a strength nor a limitation
37%
a strength
1%
a major strength
EXPLORER
an entrepreneurial approach which translates a corporate vision into a strategy for growth; moving the business on to increase market share and profitability through an appreciation of expansion options; identifying and exploiting commercial opportunities
BUILDER
a focus on customer service and on the entire delivery process; revitalising the organisation’s approach to sales and marketing and service support; committed to establishing and maintaining market position through effective distribution, pricing and advertising
LOBBYIST
developing influence within the business community and representing the organisation’s interest effectively to key stake- holder groups; recognises the impact of political developments on the organisation’s room for strategic manoeuvre and responding with the effective public relations and corporate communications

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INTEGRATOR
uniting staff around a shared vision and common purpose;
developing processes for building organisational capability
through people; building on the energies and talents of staff
through effective training and development, recognition and
communication
REGULATOR
establishing financial discipline and administrative control over
organisational processes; ensuring consistency and
standardisation through the implementation of financial
management and administrative efficiency
TROUBLE-SHOOTER
focusing the organisation on its fundamental operation;
identifying and removing peripheral business activity in
streamlining the organisation; addressing problems of low
productivity, inefficiency and cost
ARCHITECT
utilising technological capability to redefine the internal
operation; creating new business processes around technology,
new organisational structures and changes in working practice;
challenging the organisational status quo and developing
fundamentally different operating approaches
5%
a major limitation
31%
a limitation
33%
neither a strength nor a limitation
28%
a strength
3%
a major strength
1%
a major limitation
11%
a limitation
29%
neither a strength nor a limitation
49%
a strength
10%
a major strength
2%
a major limitation
22%
a limitation
28%
neither a strength nor a limitation
42%
a strength
6%
a major strength
12%
a major limitation
39%
a limitation
30%
neither a strength nor a limitation
18%
a strength
1%
a major strength
Achieves corporate
success through
the energising of
staff around a
common purpose
Financial discipline
and administrative
control restores
efficiency for
A focus on business
fundamentals helps
The radical
implementation
of new technology
creates new
operating
processes for