Is succession planning an active consideration in the Public Sector?

Sep 23, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
Several questions keep coming to my mind when I ponder on the performance of certain organisations if say their top three executives were separated by retirement, resignation, termination or for medical reasons. Would they continue to run smoothly? When I consider that in some public sector institutions senior functionaries seek permission to defer their vacation leave, or request payment in lieu of said leave, I wonder if the issue of succession planning is ever an active consideration.
One of the highest priorities for any Chief Executive should be to develop his or her staff and to have a succession plan in place for at least his successor. During a leadership change, a succession plan maintains the continuity of the organisation’s mission and reduces uncertainty and resistance to change. Succession planning – as a process, facilitates a review for leadership talent while identifying possible successors, and then providing those individuals with the training, mentoring, and support they need to prepare themselves for critical roles within the organisation when vacancies occur.
In Police Forces, although succession planning – when it takes place, is often associated primarily with the Chief Executive’s (or Commissioner’s) position, it is also essential to identifying and preparing leadership at all levels of the organisation. Having a succession plan at every leadership level ensures that no matter what the change, there will be experienced and trained personnel to step into leadership positions.
In other words, nepotism would have no place to secure a foothold in any sort of law enforcement agency, regardless of size. Therefore, it is for this very reason that leadership development for staff is critical particularly in an organisation moving towards modernisation.
Determining in a structured manner which withstands scrutiny, on who will ultimately step into police leadership and senior management roles is imperative for maintaining momentum and stability, particularly in a public safety and security environment that is vulnerable to economic and social shocks, and susceptible to political manipulation. Police Forces which do not have in place a succession plan are sometimes subject to agendas that do not have organisational development as a number one priority.
These are manifested in several ways, including unwillingness to proceed on vacation leave over an extended period with one of the reasons being that the exigencies of the police service do not permit departure at the time. What this explanation does is prove the point that a succession plan is an absolute necessity as no one is the fount of all knowledge and none is indispensable.
Editor, the International Association of Chiefs of Police Leadership Conference in 1999 recommended that to minimise the potential for cynicism and burnout, Police Chiefs through their Commanders and Supervisors should monitor the outlook of police officers to get a feel of changes in their perceptions and feelings.
Chiefs were also cautioned against assuming that their brand of leadership is well received by all officers or that their own expectations and outcomes match. In that regard, the conference suggested that formalised feedback mechanisms should be used to gauge officer opinion on issues. I hold the strong view that an effective leader is one who is open to critique and has the capacity to adjust his leadership model to meet legitimate concerns of staff.
Finally, the best legacy a Chief Executive can leave is to ensure through succession planning, that the transition after his departure is smooth and the organisation is well prepared with an adequate pool of potential leaders to take the his place. Any other path is destructive.
Patrick E. Mentore

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