Where is HR in the boardroom? Too often MIA during board deliberation on succession and leadership development.

AuthorHowe, Michael W.
PositionCOMPETITIVE EDGE

Boards that are "best in class" for talent development and succession understand the need to collaborate with the CEO or other members of top management on frank discussions about the leadership needs of the organization. But even those who have managed to get out front in developing high-caliber leaders often leave room for improvement in one area: To their detriment, boards often overlook in this collaborative process the company's human resources leader.

Leadership development expertise has historically been the domain of HR, yet it is interesting that HR leaders are not more fully involved in this task when it comes to governance. Your HR executive likely does not have a seat on your board. HR executives typically are not sought out to serve on most boards; in fact, they often have no interaction whatsoever within the boardroom. For whatever reason, they are completely left out of the discussion of talent development as it relates to governance.

To maintain a sustainable talent pool, boards must work closely with their internal chief HR officers, who need to be steady advocates for broad-based, integrated leadership development programs and should take a hands-on approach to guiding top-level executive talent management programs. The jury is still out on whether it's best for CEOs, chief HR officers, or board chairs to initiate the conversation, but somehow an ongoing dialogue must be established in which HR leaders can regularly and confidently engage with the board and the organization's leadership about which succession and development processes best fit current needs.

Specifically, directors, HR professionals, and CEOs should put their heads together to discuss, at a minimum, the following core talent management program elements:

* A Company-Specific, Strategy-Driven Leadership Model: The HR officer should advocate for establishing a set of desired leadership dimensions and resulting competencies for the CEO position and other top-tier executive roles. These competencies should build upon the long-term strategy implications for the organization's structure and resulting leadership expectations. The requirements should be distinctive, measurable, and tied to practical selection, coaching, and development practices.

* Annual Executive Talent Reviews: The CEO should annually review the organization's challenges and general leadership issues. He or she should discuss each top-tier executive and describe their development needs, career...

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