Succession Planning: Creating Future Tech Leaders

With technology skills shortages at an all-time high and fierce competition for the best talent pushing salaries to unprecedented levels, the potential for losing tech talent is greater than ever before.

Hiring and retaining talent is an intrinsic part of a CIO’s remit. Equally important is the development of successors, or future IT leaders with the technical acumen and management skills to drive future growth for organisations. Yet with so much technological change, compressed time frames for the delivery of modernisation projects and the lack of available talent, it’s no surprise succession planning has moved down the priority list.

Whilst most organisations are implementing succession planning to some degree, with varying levels of success, the challenge for technology leaders is arguably more complex and precarious. With the proliferation of modernisation projects, teams are typically formed around the implementation of new technologies and often disbanded afterwards, leaving organisations and PMO’s understaffed. For technology leaders, this makes the notion of succession planning particularly difficult.

Though technology leadership falls under the umbrella of the broader succession planning model, little is done about succession planning and skills development for technology subject matter experts, their supporting teams and successive upgrades and new technologies. At 73% of companies, the most common method for identifying individuals as potential candidates for leadership positions was a single nomination by their direct manager. (CrForum, 2016).

With technological advancement and adoption significantly outpacing the ability of organisations to keep pace with the need to update and adapt organisational structures, skills maps, workflows, policies and procedures, succession planning is crucial to future growth. However, many businesses have a difficult time fully leveraging their technology investments and, in some cases, sustaining and scaling their technologies after implementation simply because succession plans and leadership development programs are not deep enough. Once predominantly technology-focused, the modern CIO is now a strategic business role, reliant on strong soft skills and board-level business acumen focused on shaping the business vision with technology.

Why is succession planning crucial for tech leaders?

Among a myriad of distractions and competing priorities, succession planning may not be a top agenda item for many technology leaders. 70% of executives reported that leadership development programs have been rescheduled or delayed (I4CP, 2020), creating a high degree of risk to the future development of IT projects and the ongoing maintenance of business-critical systems. 40% of talent reviews that are a part of the organisation’s succession planning are now being conducted virtually, and 33% said that they have delayed or rescheduled such meetings (I4CP, 2020)

The high level of technical expertise required for IT leadership roles limits the potential talent pool, making it difficult for executives to easily transition internal leadership candidates from other departments. Yet the ever-increasing reliance and investment in technology as a business enabler means a failure to establish deep leadership talent pools leaves organisations exposed and at risk.

Go deep to identify talent

For CIO’s and technology leaders, the sheer lack of technology talent in Australia means succession planning needs to go beyond simply identifying the leadership stars of tomorrow, but exploring talent a few levels deeper to discover employees that demonstrate early signs of leadership potential who could develop in the coming years with the right coaching and training.

This means looking at talent, at different stages in their careers; the next-generation leaders currently exhibiting the necessary skills to step into management tomorrow; the emerging leaders who have the requisite technical skills and, with appropriate coaching and training, could become leaders within a few years; and then those employees who have demonstrated the soft skills to work well with management and in teams but also want to and can grow into future management potential.

This strategy becomes crucial for organisations that are using technology modernisation initiatives to change business focus, allowing the executive team to leverage emerging IT leadership talent quickly, reassigning expertise to support the new business objectives. However, this shouldn’t be an in-house-only exercise. Building ‘virtual talent pools’ outside of the organisation not only gives you visibility of the broader talent market from which to benchmark but increases your options. Tech success is reliant on quality talent to use technology as a vehicle to turn ideas and concepts into functional business solutions. Only 35% of organisations have a formalised succession planning process. (ATD, 2019) giving CIO’s and technology leaders who focus on and encourage multi-layered succession planning and workforce development a distinct advantage.

Developing a talent pool of potential future leaders complete with integrity, sound ethics, technological smarts and the business acumen to deliver on the strategic vision then these tips will help;

Discovering Future Tech Leaders

In 2022, demand for tech leaders who possess the necessary agility, technical understanding and business acumen to leverage emerging technologies for business growth is increasing. Yet soft skills and the ability to develop employee-centric cultures, innovative thinking and high performance are critical success factors for future leaders. The following suggestions can help technology leaders get started with succession planning or refine existing plans.

Work closely with HR

CIOs should engage and closely partner with HR leaders not only on initiatives to bolster deep pipelines but invest in leadership coaching and other training programs. This means defining both the critical technical skills required to make good technical decisions and working with leaders from other business units to understand the leadership qualities and soft skills required to meet business objectives now and in the future.

Good preparation

Rapidly evolving technology, rampant modernisation and increased technological adoption are creating movement at the leadership level as organisations pivot having focused on recovery. The organisations that are incorporating a structured succession plan into their technology roadmap will be best placed to navigate sudden or unexpected changes in technology leadership. With specialised talent and technical expertise in short supply, succession planning is particularly important for technology leaders.

Candidate pipelines

The market for top talent technology is fiercely competitive. To stay ahead, companies need to establish leadership development programs that can help them identify and prepare a range of internal technology candidates who demonstrate the desire for potential leadership roles rather than those who are seeking technical growth. 79% of employers surveyed note that they have succession plans in place for mid-level management positions (Talexes, 2017). Building strong candidate pipelines through succession planning is essential to not only gain a competitive advantage in developing leadership talent but also to mitigate against losing high-performing talent. CIO’s and IT leaders who are willing to invest the time to identify those rising stars and provide the necessary training, education and mentoring for tomorrow's leaders can help maintain technology continuity plans and help organisations realise the value of their technology investments through succession planning.

Innovative thinking

Innovative thinking and a fresh approach to technology succession planning that extends beyond the digital competencies and encompasses DEI, sustainability and the commercial acumen required to align and support strategic objectives are paramount for driving innovation and growth. Organisations need to give consideration to a broad range of potential internal and external technology candidate pools to ensure they can cover a variety of changing business scenarios but to explore a broad range of perspectives, thinking and skills. This helps technology leaders and HR teams establish a clear profile of the qualities and attributes that are necessary for future success.

Develop future leaders early

Whilst successful succession programs should fall under wider leadership development and talent management plans, they need to cater to the unique needs of the technology department. Although treating succession as a short-term need, rather than a long-standing, structured process might offer a sense of agility and flexibility, it denies organisations the opportunity to start developing future leaders early in their employment and better manage the risks associated with scarcely available technical expertise.

Two key steps to developing potential future tech leadership talent early are talent assessments & leadership development plans. Discovering the technical competencies, soft skills and gaps of your existing employees through talent assessments and benchmarking those against the critical skills needed for tech leadership positions can help both CIO’s and HR teams identify candidates who demonstrate the highest potential for future leadership roles. Career development plans can then be created based on the technical and soft skills required for success in the role, anticipating the future goals and technology roadmap of the organisation.

Effective onboarding

Investment in robust, effective and supportive onboarding and transition processes are of paramount importance. With nearly three-quarters of organisations

(74%) failing to complete a legacy system modernisation project according to new global research from Advanced), few companies can afford for technology leaders to fail in their new roles. The research found that one of the largest obstacles to a successful modernisation project is a disconnect of priorities between technical and leadership teams. Arguably, quality onboarding and transition support and processes are more important for technology leadership appointments given the complexity of projects and the technical expertise required, especially since Only 27% believe their organisations provide the necessary resources to support their move into a C-level role according to McKinsey. Compounding the issue, McKinsey found 50% of leaders reported that it took them six months to become effective in their new roles.

Ensuring that executive-level transitions are thorough and collaborative is essential. Providing new tech leadership appointments with access to critical information, adequate resources, organisational/technological methodologies and supportive board members can greatly reduce the time it takes for them to become effective in their new role, creating a win-win situation.

Continuously refine your plan

Organisations that develop the best leaders create technology succession plans that include selection criteria based on the future needs of the business and the technology roadmap. These criteria are often based on business performance forecasts, future direction and emerging technology, hence the need for continuous refinement and adjustment of not only the assessment criteria but the technical skills required of future tech leaders.

Incorporating flexibility for adjustment in succession plans, career development plans and selection criteria help organisations remain current and future-focused.

How Marlin Human Capital can help

At Marlin Human Capital, we’ve developed a powerful technology leadership assessment approach, deeply rooted in technical competency review, evidence-based psychometric techniques and behavioural analysis.

Expertise matters and we ensure that every candidate’s past and present performance is benchmarked against the highest standards. We help organisations identify and develop the most competent individuals who demonstrate the potential to advance your technology roadmap and business goals, forming a valuable part of your leadership team through the provision of a structured succession plan and career development program to cultivate the best performers.

If you’re interested in understanding how we can help develop a talent pool of future tech leaders, contact us to arrange a confidential discussion with one of our experts. When partnering with Marlin Human Capital, rest assured you are guaranteed absolute professionalism and discretion.

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