Build, rather than buy, your successors

SUCCESSION management and planning is becoming an increasingly hot discussion topic in the hallowed halls of Asia's boardrooms. Organisations' boards are beginning to recognise the need to discuss and develop a pipeline of leaders capable and ready to succeed the incumbent senior management especially in light of a long-term sustainable business and operations.

They also recognise that strategic growth targets will be missed if this is not planned and executed in a planned and organised fashion. This is as relevant to global multinationals as it is to the many family-owned businesses that are such significant GDP (gross domestic product) contributors in Asia.

With the average age of a board-level executive globally being 40 to 45 years of age, organisations recognise that they need to start earlier in developing and identifying their future leaders. As a result, organisations need to identify star performers in their late 20s or early 30s to be developed for general management roles and their careers carefully managed so that th…