18469_Authority_June

42 The Authority | June 2025 The important thing is that naming a successor is not a judgment about who the board thinks might be a successor; it’s an expression of confidence in whom the board believes really could do the job in the time frame named. Consider also not just those who could do the job, but whom you believe will do the job. Maybe a possible candidate has the chops, but just doesn’t want the responsibilities. Or, maybe you judge the person to be a high flight risk. If you aren’t willing to spend money and time on developing a successor candidate, that person probably shouldn't be on the plan. If that leaves those three rightmost columns mostly empty, that tells you something. One action is that future hires should be made with a heavy emphasis on bringing in high-potential people. If your current job interviews center around a fog-the-mirror test, then your succession needs require you to upgrade your hiring practices. Whether you have no successors or several, you must have leaders who are focusing on growing talent. There are numerous in-place techniques managers and supervisors can use to bring out the best in people. Here’s just one; have every leader tell their people, “don’t ask me a question unless you have a recommendation.” Performance reviews need to stress high-bar standards (and rewards for those who exceed them). Successors, however, should have more attention paid to their development. For each successor in the one-to-two and three-to-five columns, get consensus on why those people could fill those roles. What specific knowledge, skill, or capability gaps are keeping them out of the Ready Now column? Once you’re clear on those, what specific steps will you take to close the gaps? Maybe its training, but it should also require in-place developmental assignments, coaching, and/ or mentoring. These should be the subject of formal development plans, which boards should be reviewing annually. (I’d love to include here a link to my website, but as of this writing it’s being completely overhauled. So if you want to reach out to me at bwolfe@argoshr.com , I’ll be happy to send you mine.) One question your board must consider as part of this process: Do you tell successors they’re on the plan? Letting them know can increase their commitment to your authority; but if it gets out, others may be hurt or demoralized at discovering they are not judged worthy of inclusion in a key role of the authority’s future. There’s no right or wrong answer to this question; each group must proceed according to what’s right for them. But each group must consider how they proceed very carefully. Trust me on this. I would like to see succession planning become a component of every authority’s asset management plan. Talent is as precious a resource as any technical equipment, and becoming ever more so. Securing it is as manageable as any other capital, and doing so must become a priority of every authority’s board. S Reading | Hawley | Lititz | Mountaintop | Pottsville | Pittsburgh 800.825.1372 | entecheng.com Inf ras t ructure means more to the people who rel y on i t . We not only understand the needs of the systems and people who have to work non-stop to serve our communites with water and wastewater services; we depend on them too. Succession article continued from page 19. ... succession planning is about ensuring continuity of service - it just focuses on ensuring the capabilities not of physical systems , but of leaders and key individual contributors ( e . g ., licensed operators ). Barry Wolfe is President of Argos HR Solutions, LLC. He’s the author of the forthcoming book, “It’s All In Your Head: Why Psychology Doesn’t Help Your Employees Deliver Value—And What Can.”