Elements of Effective Succession Planning

A Working Paper for the UCEDDs

This material is funded in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities under

Contract #233-01-0022 to the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. The content of
this material does not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Administration on
Developmental Disabilities. No official support or endorsement by the Administration on
Developmental Disabilities is intended nor should be inferred.

Suggested citation: Caldwell. A.C. (2007, May). Elements of Effective Succession Planning: A
Working Paper for the UCEDDs. Silver Spring, MD: Association of University Centers on
Disabilities.
 Introduction

Administration on Developmental Disabilities

Association of University Centers on Disabilities

Currently, many leaders in the national network of University Centers for Excellence in
Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs)—who to a great extent represent a formative generation
of program directors—are nearing retirement. There is no coordinated effort at this time to
support or plan for the transition of this set of leaders to those who will assume responsibility for
the UCEDDs of the future.

The departure of a director is a transformational event for any kind of program, regardless of the
circumstances. Key to an organization’s success is its ability to transition to new leadership.
Each transition tests the organization's ability to renew itself, so that it can continue to fulfill its
mission in a changing environment. A successful change in leadership preserves the organization
and the trust of its stakeholders, and allows it to grow and adapt to meet new challenges.

Acknowledging the importance of supporting UCEDDs as they experience leadership transitions,

the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) and the Association for University
Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) is taking steps to assist UCEDDs in assessing and preparing for
leadership transitions to promote a dynamic future.

The first step in this process was at the 2006 ADD Technical Assistance Institute, which featured
William J. Rothwell as a keynote speaker. Dr. Rothwell addressed challenges to meeting
succession and leadership development needs in university contexts. Following the Institute,
ADD and AUCD have explored how to further support leadership development and transition
across the UCEDD network. These discussions resulted in the development of the following
paper, Elements of Effective Succession Planning: A Working Paper for the UCEDDs. This
paper summarizes various strategies—both within and external to the higher education
environment—to support leadership development and transition. The purpose of the paper is to
generate a discussion with the UCEDDs on possible strategies for supporting leadership
development and transition.

ADD and AUCD look forward to advancing discussions with the UCEDD network on potential
strategies for supporting leadership development and transition. We ask that you read the
Elements of Effective Succession Planning: A Working Paper for the UCEDDs in preparation for
the discussion to be held at the 2007 ADD Technical Assistance Institute and to consider
volunteering to participate in a workgroup that will examine ways in which leadership
development and transition can be supported at a national level.

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Elements of Effective Succession Planning
A Working Paper for the UCEDDs
Ann Cameron Caldwell, PhD

Overview

This working paper was prepared for a to-be-named Workgroup of UCEDD staff members
within the UCEDD network, who will be working on developing leadership strategies for
UCEDDS within the network. It identifies information found as a result of a literature review on
the elements of effective succession planning. The specific intent of the review was to find
information on the topics of leadership development mechanisms and strategies, transition
planning mechanisms and strategies, strategies for capturing and transmitting technical memory,
and strategies for capturing and transmitting institutional memory and important relationships to
new leaders. The hope is that this information will be of interest to the Workgroup members and
inform the leadership planning process.

Leadership development in the context of UCEDD succession planning means the process of
preparing individuals to take on leadership roles such as UCEDD Director and Associate
Director. The literature showed that it is important to differentiate the concepts of skill
development—which allows an employee to perform their daily jobs well—and leadership
development, which conveys a different set of skills that concern more globalized thinking,
situational analysis, and risk-taking in decision-making. Therefore, this search did not focus on
skill development initiatives for daily job activities, nor did it include the leadership development
of students.

For this working paper, succession models used in higher education, corporate, association, and
non-profit arenas were explored. The rationale for this approach was that these types of
organizations may all have something in common with a UCEDD, and can offer guidance in
preparing leadership succession initiatives within the AUCD network. The paper is divided
into four major areas: Leadership Development, Transition Planning, Capturing and Transmitting
Institutional and Technical Memory, and Transmitting Important Relationships.

Methodology

Information was gained through literature reviews in academic research search engines (ERIC,
Illumina, and “q” which searches many other databases), Google scholar, and direct internet
searches using primary key words that included “succession planning,” “leadership
development,” “transition planning,” “transmitting institutional and technical memory,” “higher
education development,” and “organizational culture.” Library searches were also conducted at
university and public libraries for journal articles, books and book chapters, and popular
magazine articles. As this is an internal working paper to present broad leadership approaches to
the Workgroup, few citations are provided in text; however, key articles are included in the
bibliography and are provided for closer reading.
 Elements of effective succession planning
A Working Paper for the UCEDD Network

Leadership Development

Challenges Faced by Higher Education Institutions

Higher education institutions are highly relevant to UCEDDs in that most of the UCEDDs
operate within a university setting. Looking to best practices models within this arena may be of
key importance in strategically designing an effective leadership development initiative.

Although a number of university leaders have begun to recognize the need to train the next
generation of leaders, the literature shows that such programs are typically driven by individuals
rather by institutions. Some view that changes in leadership at higher educational institutions are
often personal and tribal in nature, and that succession decisions are often controlled by Boards
or selection committees outside of the department, who can choose whether to maintain
continuity and momentum, or make significant changes to institutional direction and focus.

Leadership development strategies for higher education address many issues that are particular to
the academic setting:

• Academics are often ambivalent about assuming leadership roles.

• Professional identity and sense of satisfaction from work of leaders in higher education
settings are often derived principally from their professional expertise and
accomplishments – not for their leadership potential.
• Those in higher education settings are often not recruited for their leadership potential,
but rather are selected and rewarded for their research, course development, and/or
teaching skills.
• Often, the institutional system tends to snuff out the spark of enthusiasm for leadership
before the flame is ignited.
• The prestige of specific professional disciplines drains off potential leaders into profitable
non-leadership roles.
• Many academics are unwilling to give up their professional and personal lives for ones
consumed by leadership responsibilities.

As this list shows, the state of selection, meaning, and the processes by which higher education
institutions go about identifying, recruiting, and selecting candidates at the top levels of the
higher education institutions is often precarious.

Descriptions of leadership development programs or strategies currently in use by higher

education institutions, corporate organizations, associations, and non-profits are provided below.

Corporations

Corporate organizations offer an ample menu of leadership development models. These models
are relevant to UCEDDs in that these models focus on networking, identifying talent and
cultivating leadership qualities, and strategic thinking. Provided here are several different models
and resources for consideration.

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Visionary Companies
One process of leadership development within organizations is based on case studies of
“visionary” companies (Collins & Porras, 1994). Visionary companies support the development
of “cult-like” organizational cultures that ensure employees share the same values, ideologies,
and management habits throughout the organization. The process of developing a visionary
company involves management investment in developing or refining the core values of the
organization. The core values then inform how each aspect of work at every level is performed.
Employees are charged with taking active leadership responsibilities in developing and
deepening the organization’s operations, and establishing goals for the organization to work
towards that go far beyond existing day-to-day operations (hence, “visionary”). As a result, a
definitive strength-based organizational culture is developed, which supports a methodical
leadership development process.

Leadership Pipelines
Another strategy was explored by Conger and Fulmer in Developing Your Leadership Pipeline,
an article which presents leadership development strategies used by several Fortune 500
corporations including Eli Lilly, Bank of America, and Dow Chemical. Key concepts
concerning the choice and cultivation of future leaders are presented, and the authors suggest that
strongest leadership benches are developed when succession management—a combination of
succession planning and leadership development—is strategized and implemented at all
organizational levels. Leadership development is a process that occurs over time, and which
uses multiple methods and approaches that vary according to the organizational culture, mission,
individual interests, and support and resource systems in place.

In this model, effective succession management happens when corporations adopt a talent-
finding mindset that occurs when (a) corporate leaders make time for in-depth talent assessment;
there is a process in place that differentiates between strong and weak performers; high-potential
managers are identified and (b) challenging assignments are given to inexperienced but high-
potential managers.

The guidelines for building a leadership pipeline are:

• Focus on development: Integrate succession planning with leadership development to
ensure that you know what skills future leaders need as well as how they can learn these
skills. Pair classroom training with all-important work experiences that solve real
organization problems while enhancing budding leaders’ general management expertise.
Mastery of general competencies in all areas of business is essential.

• Identify linchpin positions: Determine which middle to senior management positions are
essential to your organization’s long-term health. Keep a full pipeline for those linchpin
positions by regularly identifying high potential candidates, then increase their leadership
skills by giving them linchpin assignments coupled with team support, training, and/or
mentoring. Also, regularly evaluate performances of linchpin incumbents to determine
their potential for even more challenging assignments.

• Make it transparent: A stronger leadership bench is created when you openly tell
managers where they stand on the performance and potential ladder, and what they need

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to do to advance. To make the succession management process more transparent,
consider web-based succession management tools that allow easy and secure access to
information for developing leaders and their managers.

• Measure progress regularly: Development is a long-term process, so it’s important to

know whether the right people are moving at the right pace into the right jobs at the right
time. Measurement helps you see where the pool of candidates is too shallow and when
the number of attractive jobs is too limited to retain your highest potential managers.
Measurement of holes in leadership pipelines can use the following metrics:

o How many important positions have been filled with internal candidates?
o How many succession plans have two or more “ready now” candidates?
o How many of the same employees are “ready now” candidates on more than three
different succession plans?

Other Corporate Approaches to Leadership Development

A number of examples of innovations in corporate leadership development are available that
meet the unique needs of each organization.

• General Electric moves individuals identified as future leaders through different positions
and geographic locations to prepare them for eventual leadership.

• XEROX managers are not eligible for promotion unless they have recruited, trained, and
developed their own replacements.

• Banata, a large digital imaging and printing company utilizes succession planning by
having current leaders identify, recruit, and develop new leaders.

• Other initiatives include voluntary administrative internships or mentorship programs, or

workshops and seminars

• Eli Lilly has a bi-annual action-learning program that brings together potential leaders,
selected by line managers and the HR department, to focus on a strategic business issue
chosen by the CEO.

• Eli Lilly also has a “group development review” that is mandatory for employees
identified through the company’s talent assessment process as having executive potential.

• Dow gives future leaders broad experience by launching small joint ventures or internal
enterprises through lateral moves across functions and business units in order to gain
experience in a dimension not offered within their home offices.

National Associations

Association leadership development models may be most relevant to the network of UCEDDs in
that this organizational model most closely resembles their relationship with AUCD. Many of
the organizational issues of AUCD are similar in nature to other associations and influence how

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leadership initiatives are designed and implemented, such as: (a) a centralized office that
operates using membership dues, (b) a mission statement that shares its member’s core values,
(c) operational standards and reporting expectations, and (d) a leadership platform.

There seems to be a difference between associations that serves primarily as a lobbying entity for
their membership and those that also provide a higher level of professional development for their
members. For example, AARP, a lobbying group with a membership of older individuals, does
not appear to offer leadership opportunities for its membership, while the American Council on
Education offers several leadership tracks for its membership of professional educators. Those
associations that offer more professional development opportunities often include leadership
development as part of their continuing education menu.

There is little published information on how associations conduct succession-oriented leadership

development initiatives to sustain their own organizations. Information gained through internet
searches of association websites found informal leadership development where individuals move
through different levels of leadership roles, beginning with local chapters, then moving to state
organizations, and then to national association roles. Formal leadership development strategies
were concern skill acquisition and development for an individual to do their daily jobs, and were
not targeted towards succession models.

Factors that contribute to difficulties in recruiting qualified leadership from the ranks in
associations includes heavy workloads of day-to-day job responsibilities, lack of opportunities to
develop themselves for leadership responsibilities within the association, personal career paths
and goals that do not align with the development of additional professional skills, lack of
effective communication mechanisms to educate and engage membership, and workplaces that
do not necessarily value or reward voluntary work and leadership.

Professional Associations

Two examples of associations offering professional development to their members and their
leadership programs are described below.

The American Council on Education

We found that The American Council on Education (ACE), the major coordinating body for all
the nation's higher education institutions, seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key
higher education issues and to influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program
initiatives. ACE provides several models of leadership development for those in higher
education that may be of particular interest to the AUCD network. In an effort to strengthen
American colleges and universities, ACE offers a series of leadership and professional
development programs and activities that may be of interest to the AUCD network. Some of
these include:

• Presidential Seminars and Roundtables: ACE conducts periodic and ongoing seminars
and roundtables on emerging topics of interest to presidents of universities. For instance,
The Leadership Network for International Education, a group of approximately 200
presidents and provosts committed to advancing internationalization on their campuses,
meets annually to discuss the leadership role in internationalization. A series of seminars

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on technology strategy was conducted in 2003–04. In 2004, a series of Presidential
Roundtables, held in conjunction with the Futures Project, addressed higher education’s
changing social compact with the states. Follow-up discussions focusing on competition
and public purposes and on reclaiming public confidence are scheduled for 2006.

• Summits for Presidents of Color: These summits are designed to explore the challenges
and opportunities of university presidency for persons of color, provide direct support
and service to sitting presidents, establish a multi-ethnic presidential network, and foster
collaborations among presidents of color and with association leaders, government
officials, and higher education scholars and consultants.

• Presidents’ Consultation Network: The Presidents' Consultation Network provides “just-

in-time” counsel to college and university presidents, especially those in their first year or
two in office, and assists with their immediate challenges and pressing problems. Such
problems might include handling fallout from controversial speakers on campus,
legislative initiatives that intrude upon academic freedom, and problems with boards of
trustees or campus governance. The Consultation Network will engage a group of former
presidents to discuss presidential challenges, test ideas, and provide advice via phone to
presidents looking for a sympathetic ear, an objective understanding, and a source of
expert referral for longer-term consultation.

• Institute for New Chief Academic Officers: ACE’s Institute for New Chief Academic
Officers, designed for CAOs in their first three years on the job, provides practical
executive leadership development through a yearlong series of meetings. The Institute
enables participants to explore a broad range of leadership issues, including making
difficult strategic and financial decisions, managing academic personnel, setting and
evaluating institutional and personal agendas, leading change (and stability), and working
with key internal and external constituencies. Institute participants convene three times
during the academic year.

• National Leadership Forums for the Advancement of Women Leaders: The Office of
Women in Higher Education offers forums which bring together college and university
presidents to work with women who are ready to move into senior administrative
positions or presidencies. The three-day event offers discussions of issues and challenges
surrounding leadership in the academy and introduces participants to a number of search
consultants who prepare them to engage in the search process.

• Advancing to the Presidency: A Workshop for Vice Presidents: This workshop for
academic vice presidents provides an opportunity to individuals who will be seeking a
presidency within the next year or two to gain valuable insight into the process of
becoming a campus CEO. The two-day workshop focuses on presidential leadership, the
CEO search process, contract negotiation, and successful transitions into the presidency.
It is highly interactive, including candid conversations with search firm executives,
coaching by current presidents from diverse institutions, feedback from mock interviews,
and critiques of cover letters and vitas. Preparing to become a president requires a keen
understanding of oneself and the search process, and a game plan for a successful search
and the transition into the presidency.

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• Regional Leadership Forums: The Office of Women in Higher Education offers Regional
Leadership Forums for emerging and mid-level women leaders who are ready to move
into deanships and vice presidencies. The three-day event offers discussions of issues and
challenges surrounding leadership in the academy, especially strategic planning, resource
allocation, and fund raising. The participants are introduced to a number of search
consultants who prepare them to engage in the search process.

• CLASSIC Series: The CLASSIC Series is designed to bring scholars and administrators
together to discuss diversity issues and consider strategies that will promote greater
participation of underrepresented groups at higher education institutions. These meetings
provide a forum for leaders of color to collectively explore the challenges and
opportunities associated with the positions of chief academic officer or chief student
affairs officer. They also provide a venue to explore public policy issues affecting poor
and minority students. Special sessions on federal public policy offer opportunities for
discussing ways to forge new alliances on critical issues and to leverage federal resources
for improving the condition of minorities in postsecondary education.

NAFSA: Association of International Educators

NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, is a member organization that promotes
international education and provides professional development opportunities to the field.
NAFSA offers an Executive Leadership Development Program, which is a week-long, intensive
program that provides leaders in international education the opportunity to develop the
leadership skills necessary for advancing the international education agenda in complex campus
environments. This program is designed for deans, directors, and those who have been managers
for at least five to seven years, who deal in complex problem solving, who contribute to campus
strategy, and who yearn for a more theoretical grounding in management. Limited to 35
participants, the program draws on expert faculty from around the country, and is highly
interactive with lectures, small group work, and individual readings. Participants can expect to
develop a tangible blueprint to implement strategies and renew their professional energy. The
program focuses on six topics that form the core of the discussions:
• Influencing systems in complex organizations
• Strategic thinking
• Implementing and sustaining change
• Managing conflict
• Decision-making and risk-taking
• Leadership and action planning

Non Profit Organizations

Leadership development programs in non-profit organizations are a relevant exemplar for

UCEDDs in that they need to maximize leadership opportunities on oftentimes limited budgets.
Many UCEDDs maintain a non profit status, so looking toward models that use funds and
opportunities creatively and efficiently may be of interest in UCEDD leadership development
strategies.

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Leadership development in non-profits can be difficult due to scarcity of resources, time, and
money. Both employees and Boards of Directors (who can take on a variety of leadership roles
within an organization if necessary) need to be involved. Strategies to develop these leaders
must be created to fit within the organizations’ overall strategic planning process.

United Way
In a study that explored leadership development in United Way agencies in New York, executive
directors and pipeline leaders were found to agree on the relative utility of a number of
professional development models (with majorities, often overwhelming, agreeing on the value of
all the approaches). Both groups overwhelmingly support a “coaching” model, where after an
initial training period in a workshop or seminar, a professional follows up with a trainee at the
organization; a combination of workshops and seminars offered over a period of time and a
combination of workshops and seminars leading to a certificate were also endorsed. About two-
thirds of both groups were found to agree that a program leading to a master’s degree in non
profit management would best serve professional development needs of senior
professional/executive staff; however opinions diverged somewhat on the value of online
learning.

Some identified strategies of leadership development in non-profit organizations are to:

• Provide staff with opportunities to attend conferences and seminars that emphasize
leadership and management skills
• Create occasions for key staff to interact with Board members
• Delegate an important task to staff with potential, and guide them through the project so
that they learn new skills with appropriate supervision and support
• Mentor staff

Partners in Policymaking
The Partners in Policymaking leadership training program is another example of how a non-
profit approaches leadership development. Partners, created in 1987 by the Minnesota
Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, is a competency-based leadership training
program for adults with disabilities and parents of young children with developmental
disabilities. The program’s format includes classroom training and skill building exercises,
which typically occur over a 9-month period.

Fellowships and Internships

Fellowships and internships are other methods of leadership development. These models are
relevant to UCEDDs as they may provide highly informative off-site leadership opportunities to
staff in shorter time periods.

Fellowships
Fellowships provide unique and often intensive leadership development opportunities for those
individuals wishing to experience first hand the process of being involved at the heart of topic or
initiative. Three examples are discussed below.

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• ACE Fellows Program: Since 1965, hundreds of vice presidents, deans, department chairs,
faculty, and other emerging leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program, a higher
education leadership development program that has prepared senior leaders to serve
American colleges and universities. The ACE Fellows Program is unique in comparison to
other leadership development programs in higher education.

The ACE Fellows spend an extended period of time on another campus, working directly
with presidents, observe and participate in key meetings and events, and take on special
projects and assignments while under the mentorship of a team of experienced
administrators. They participate in three weeklong national seminars, visit other campuses,
and attend national meetings, make contact with a national network of higher education
leaders, and learn by observing and doing. The ACE Fellows Program enables participants
to immerse themselves in the culture, policies, and decision-making processes of another
institution. This program condenses years of on-the-job experience and skills development
into a single year.

• Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Public Policy Fellowship: The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Public Policy
Fellowship selects outstanding professionals working in the field of inclusive services and
supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities or parents of a child with
an intellectual disability, to experience an intensive one-year Public Policy Fellowship in
Washington, DC. During this one year experience, the Kennedy Fellow learns how
legislation is initiated, developed, and passed by the Congress, or how programs are
administered and regulations promulgated by federal agencies. They actively participate in
public policy development through work on the staff of a congressional committee, or a
federal agency in key areas such as special education, health and mental health care for
persons with intellectual disabilities, child care, housing, justice, child welfare and other
areas related to improving the quality of life for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Scholars in Health Policy Research Program: The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Scholars in Health Policy Research Program was
established in 1992 to develop a new generation of creative thinkers in health policy
research. Scholars are selected to participate in the Program at one of three nationally
prominent academic institutions: Harvard University, the University of California at
Berkeley (in collaboration with the University of California at San Francisco), and the
University of Michigan. There, Fellows have the opportunity to work collaboratively in
multidisciplinary environments with faculty from the social sciences, medicine, public
health, and public policy with the expectation they will seek to make important research
contributions to future health policy in the United States. Scholars have access to the full
range of university resources with no teaching or administrative responsibilities.

Internships
An internship provides individuals with the opportunity to spend time working in another
organization on specific issues in order to gain a deeper understanding of a system and skill sets
in that area. An internship, by nature, is time limited and might last anywhere from two months
to two years.

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The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation provides a number of initiatives that may serve as
an exemplar of the leadership development opportunities that internships can provide. The
Foundation:

• Selects graduate students to work as an intern in the federal government or non-profit

organizations for up to one year and provides support in moving into leadership positions

• Provides Truman Scholars with short term employment opportunities with federal
agencies and NGOs

• Holds Summer Institutes, which brings scholars from all across the country to
Washington DC where they work for nine weeks with federal agencies and NGOs

The Foundation provides its scholars with orientation activities, workshops on ethics, leadership,
and public service, and also organizes social and service activities with the greater Truman
Alumni Community. While this example focuses on providing students with real life
experiences in working in government, the method could also be applied to mid-to upper level
managers within the UCEDD network.

Transition Planning

This section identifies methods used by other organizations for moving to new leadership, which
may be relevant to UCEDDs in that as their current leadership ages out of the system, new
leadership will take their place. For an efficient transition to occur, careful transition planning
and mechanisms to support transitions are needed. Collins and Porras (1994) suggest that
transition planning mechanisms and strategies are often already naturally accomplished with
careful succession pre-planning and promoting “home-grown” managers into positions for which
they have already prepared and trained. This goes back to the leadership development strategies
that are tied to and assume movement of talented employees into future positions of leadership
within the organization. Adherence to established core values of the organization, they argue, is
the most reliable predictor of ensuring smooth transitions in succession situations.

Executive Transition Management was one method used by the Support Center for Non-Profit
Management in non-profit organizations to capture the range of opportunities presented by a
leadership change. This holistic approach to transition management can be reduced to three key
words: Prepare, Pivot, and Thrive. These concepts are more fully explained below.

Prepare, Pivot, and Thrive

• Prepare: To successfully exploit the rich opportunities that a transition provides a Board,
it needs to invest some time up front to prepare for the search and transition. The board
should ensure that the organization is stable enough to make a good hire, the
organization's situation is clearly understood, the current and future leadership needs of
the organization have been fully explored, and all this information is captured in an
updated job profile and a solid plan for the search and transition.

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• Pivot: One transition aspect often overlooked when a Board focuses exclusively on the
search is what the organization can do to pave the way to greater success for the new
executive. In most organizations there are legacy or “transition” issues that, if left
unattended, might blunt the effectiveness of the new executive. Identifying these issues
and setting corrective action into motion before the new executive comes on board can
help lay the groundwork for the executive and organization to thrive.

• Thrive: Some simple actions in the post-hire phase can have a dramatic impact on success
and help flatten the executive's learning curve: providing a solid orientation and
encouraging the executive to build key relationships early; ensuring that there is an
agreed-on set of priorities for the first 12–18 months of the new executive's tenure;
building a strong social contract between the board and executive with clarity about roles,
responsibilities and expectations; and establishing performance monitoring mechanisms
and an evaluation plan that addresses both the board's performance as well as the
executive's.

Methods to achieve effective transition may include a transition committee that is appointed
early in the process. Usually this is a small (about four) team of Board members and may
include one or two staff members. Larger, more complex organizations may have larger
transition committees. In these cases, 6–10 members or more are not uncommon. Typically,
these larger committees will have one or more subcommittees that focus on key areas of the
transition, for example, a search subcommittee, a transition issues subcommittee, etc.

After the question of organizational stability has been addressed and the transition team is in
place, the next activity should be an organizational review or an assessment. The goal of the
review is to ensure that the transition team and board truly understand (and agree on) the
organization's situation, strengths and assets, transition type, challenges, and opportunities.

Whether the departing executive is the founder or a long-term executive is another major factor
to consider. Long-term and founder transitions typically involve more complicated separation
issues and more complex organizational development activities during the transition. Often,
these executives' jobs have become an eclectic mix of duties. When you begin to unpack the job,
you often find elements of two, three, or more jobs. Segregating and delegating these extraneous
duties and getting down to the executive's core responsibilities can be a complicated
developmental exercise in itself.

Onboarding

In corporate settings, a new trend in preparing leaders for the initial transition is to hire coaches
to ensure the success of new hires during the most critical period of their tenure: the first 90 –100
days. This technique is called “onboarding” and includes outside consultants to help with the
process, involvement of the outgoing executive, using institutional and corporate memory
supports, and Board involvement in the transition process. Several consultants and companies
were found in on-line searches that offer these services, but efforts to identify specific techniques
used in onboarding support were not found.

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Capturing and Transmitting Institutional and Technical Memory

Institutional memory can be defined as a collection of facts, concepts, experiences, and know-
how held by a group of people. As institutional memory transcends the individual, it requires the
ongoing transmission of these memories between members of this group. Elements of
institutional memory may be found in corporations, professional groups, government bodies,
religious groups, academic collaborations and by extension in entire cultures.

Institutional memory may be encouraged to preserve a group’s ideology or way of work and may
include preferred methods to get someone new in a leadership position “up to speed with the
roles and responsibilities of their position and the organization they are leading. Conversely,
institutional memory may become so ingrained that it becomes hard to challenge if new
information becomes available. This element of organizational structure is relevant to UCEDDs
in that each center has its own history, in addition to the national history, which needs to be
mindfully captured, documented, disseminated, and expanded so that staff have comprehensive
knowledge of these centers.

Discussed below are several strategies for capturing and transmitted institutional memory and a
brief discussion of “corporate memory,” a related concept which may also be relevant to the
network of UCEDDs.

Storytelling

The review of literature obtained through academic search engines revealed only 12 publications
dated from 1982–2002 that used the key words “institutional memory.” One study explored a
theory of organizations as a collective story-telling system in which the performance of stories is
a key part of members’ sense-making and a means to allow them to supplement individual
memories within the institutional memory. For instance, the institutional memory of a college or
university depends largely on staff continuity and student memory. By encouraging graduates to
tell their stories about the institution, advancement professionals can foster a desire among
alumni to make donations to the institution. Storytelling topics and themes might include faculty
and curricular experiences, social/extracurricular experiences, or institutional character.
Storytelling behavior is clearly observed in corporate, non-profit, and association organizations.

Documentation

Other, more technical means of capturing and transmitting institutional memory include
documenting written output or results from meetings and events into an accessible, electronic
format. One study (found through academic search engines) explored how vocational education
was developed using narrative historical perspectives as a method of identifying and preserving
institutional memory:

Because most vocational decision makers in Florida lack in-depth knowledge of how
vocational education developed in the state, a six-year historical study was conducted to
provide a narrative history as an aid for identifying recurring policy issues. Traditional
historical research in libraries and archives was conducted and oral history interviews
were compiled.

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A Working Paper for the UCEDD Network

The research provided a foundation for the historical narrative. This historical narrative
was analyzed for policy implications with respect to program governance, program
determination decisions, and federal-state-local relationships in vocational education.

Through this project, a professionally printed history of vocational education in Florida

and three volumes of oral history transcripts were developed. These products provide
insight into the interaction among federal, state, and local officials and their influence on
the development of vocational education in Florida.

Corporate Memory

Corporate memory is conceptualized as the total body of data, information, and knowledge that
is required to deliver the strategic aims and objectives of an organization. A corporate memory is
the combination of a repository (the storage of objects, artifacts, documents, and information)
and a community: the people that interact with those objects to learn, make decisions, understand
contexts, or find colleagues. Corporate Memory can be subdivided into the following types:

• Professional (reference materials, documentation, tools, methodologies)

• Company (organizational structure, activities, products, participants)
• Individual (status, competencies, know-how, activities)
• Project (definition, activities, histories, results)

The corporate repository may be used in transmitting institutional memory to new leaders. To
optimize the utility of such a repository, organizations must answer the following questions:

• What knowledge representation(s) should be used (stories, graphs, cases, rules, etc.)?
• Who will be the users and what will be their information and learning needs?
• How best to ensure security and who will be granted access?
• How best to integrate with existing sources, stories, and systems?
• What to do to ensure the current content is correct, applicable, timely and weeded?
• How to motivate experts to contribute?
• What to do about ephemeral insights, how to capture informal scripts (e.g., email and
instant messenger scripts)?

Transmitting Important Relationships

The transmittal of important relationships to new leaders often is cited as part of transitioning
and leadership development. This aspect of succession planning is also included in efforts to
build in some form of corporate memory, capture expertise, speed new learning, record decision
rationales, document achievements, or learn from past successes and failures. Specific techniques
of transmitting important relationships to new leaders that are found embedded in other aspects
of succession planning include:

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 Elements of effective succession planning
A Working Paper for the UCEDD Network
• Developing a mindful strategy of how to transmit important organizational relationships
to new leaders which is applied regularly and frequently as part of a methodical
leadership development and succession planning processes
• Bringing new leaders to meetings with key partners, Board Members, clients, vendors
and consumers on a regular basis to establish familiarity with issues, initiatives,
individuals, and procedures
• Involving new leaders in work initiatives with these individuals or groups
• Using corporate memory and institutional memory methods to inform new leaders of
organizational histories, patterns, culture, and forward vision.

Conclusion

Succession planning cannot occur in isolation; rather, the elements of successful succession
efforts are rooted in four major and interrelated organizational processes: leadership
development, transition planning, capturing and transmitting institutional and technical memory,
and transmitting important relationships. In the context of UCEDD succession planning,
leadership development means the process of preparing individuals to take on leadership roles at
the UCEDD Director and Associate Director level. Several conclusions may be drawn from this
review:
• Transition planning, which includes methods and steps to move toward new leadership,
must be engaged in thoughtfully.
• Institutional memory—the collection of facts, concepts, experiences, skills, and ideology
necessary either to perform or provide context for the work—must be conveyed to new
leaders.
• Relationships, both institutional and personal, that are important to performance success
must be maintained as leadership changes.
The members of the to-be-named Workgroup might consider the models presented in this paper
as they explore developing leadership strategies within the UCEDD network.

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A Working Paper for the UCEDD Network

Selected Sources
Birdsell, D., Muzzio, D. (2003). The next leaders: United Way New York City grantee
leadership development and succession management needs. Baruch College School of Public
Affairs.
Boje, D. (1991). The storytelling organization: A study of story performance in an office-supply
firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 106-126.

Byham, W. C. (2002). A new look at succession management. Ivey Business Journal, 66(5), 10-
12.

Canadian Nurses Association. Succession Planning for Nursing Leadership. Approved by the
CNA Board of Directors, 1 March 2003 (Recommended by the CNA Committee on Nominations
to the CNA Board of Directors in February 2003, with thanks to Committee on Nominations
member, Heather F. Clarke, RN, PhD for initial draft.)

Cohen, D. & Jackson, K. (1998). The secrets to effective succession planning. CMA
Collins, J.C., Porras, J.I. Built to Last: Successful habits of visionary companies. New York, NY:
HarperCollins Publishers, 1994.

Conger, J., Fulmer, R.. Developing your leadership pipeline. Harvard Business Review.
December 2003.

Gardner, H. (1995). Leading minds – An anatomy of leadership. New York: Basic Books.

McDade, S. A. (1994). Evaluating leadership development programs: New directions for

leadership development. Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 395-417.

Pearce, C. L., & Conger, J. A. (Eds.). (2003). Shared leadership: Reframing the hows and whys
of leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Rothwell, W.J., Jackson, R.D., Knights, S.C., Lindholm, J.E., Wang, A., Payne, T.. Career
planning and succession management: Developing your organization’s talent – for today and
tomorrow. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2005.

Internet searches, conducted in August and September 2006:

Key words: leadership development, succession planning, transition planning, higher
education, non-profit, association, institutional memory, organizational culture.

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1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 920
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Phone: 301-588-8252
Fax: 301-588-2842
[Link]

George Jesien, PhD

Executive Director

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