Improving Talent Reviews and Succession Plans in Diverse Corporations

Managing Diversity – Information for People Managing a Diverse Workforce
Author: By Vincent M. Cramer and Clayton H. Osborne
Published: 4/1/2006

Improving Talent Reviews and Succession Plans in Diverse Corporations
A hurricane hits the United States, packing strong winds and powerful waves, transforming everything in its path. In the wake of the storm, people quickly mobilize to deal with the aftermath.


Assessments are made and plans are developed to minimize the impact of future storms. Homes are rebuilt and seawalls are constructed.

In the last quarter of the Twentieth Century the strong winds and powerful waves of diversity have hit the shores of Corporate America, transforming everything in its path. Although the impact has been great, corporations may unwittingly be building "seawalls" in talent reviews and succession plans to control the aftereffects.

Constructing Homes on Stilts

Mankind’s response to disruption and upheaval can be encapsulated in the quotation of Reinhold Niebuhr, "God, give us the serenity to accept the things that cannot be changed, the courage to change the things that can be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference." Mankind often forgets that Earth is a living organism and that it is always in a state of transformation. Unwisely, we spend time and energy trying "to change the things" "that cannot be changed." If you want evidence of this human folly, look at the US coastline and view the houses that stand on stilts hugging the shore.

Ignoring the fact that coastlines continuously reshape themselves, homeowners tend to disregard this reality. Homes are rebuilt on stilts in the hope that they will defy the course of nature. US taxpayers subsidize this effort because people have a strong desire to maintain the status quo. While we acknowledge the fact that things change, we find it quite difficult to truly accept and embrace it.

Human Hurricane

Let us examine the human hurricane of diversity and the changes that have resulted. Since diversity programs are relatively recent in the timeline of Corporate America, the preponderance of superiors are legacy employees, not individuals who embody the diversity of its workforce. Statistics show that positions at the higher rungs of the corporate ladder decrease in the percentage of diversity. The result is that reviews and succession plans will take place between people of dissimilar backgrounds and cultures the higher you advance in the corporation. Will a person who is quite different from the boss be understood and appreciated? Will some individuals be viewed as a wave that is reshaping and redefining a corporate landscape that most people find comfortable?

Talent reviews and succession plans are two corporate processes that must be examined. They might be the "seawalls" of organizational rigidity instead of the engine of organizational development. Although there may be an acceptance and possibly an appreciation of diversity, there is also an unintentional attempt to put the corporation on stilts.

Those who occupy managerial positions can logically conclude that what they are, and what they have done, is the formula that people seeking advancement should follow. This logic daisy chains up to the top of the hierarchy. You might consider it to be the Myway Highway, where the road is marked with signs indicating that to reach the next rung you should follow your superior’s path. The manager may appear to be saying, "If you want to get to where I am, you should have the qualities that I possess." In effect, the current leaders are in a position to build the seawalls and drive the stilts into the ground.

Harnessing the Power of Diversity

Diverse members of a company cannot easily navigate the Myway Highway to reach higher rank, although they must try. The ultimate solution is for corporations to possess a worldview of talent that fosters a corporate culture of multicultural meritocracy that is manifested in talent reviews and succession planning. In a global economy, corporations can no longer be culturally myopic. They must take bold steps to recognize the human tendency of those in power to maintain that power and institute an empowering culture of change.

The effects of diversity on corporations have been profound and its forces continue to gain strength, but executive leaders must be willing to allow these powerful forces to reshape their corporate homes. Having a diverse corporation is no longer adequate. Corporations must inspect their foundation to determine if the structure is on stilts, weathering the full force of the storm.

There are three areas of the corporation that must be examined in determine if the corporation is harnessing the powerful waves of diversity or whether it is building "seawalls" to manage its effects. First, examine the corporate methods of collaborative decision-making to ensure that individual "waves’ can have an impact and not merely passing the pilings and leaving the corporate home intact. Next, the leadership must create a corporate standard for talent reviews and succession plans that can facilitate the tidal change required in today’s challenging corporate cosmos.

In order to harness the energy of diversity, talent reviews and succession plans must accept and encourage the unpredictability of the shifting sand. Only through such a process can the coastline be strong enough to withstand the challenges that lie ahead rather than buttressing a foundation that has lost its footing.

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Vincent M. Cramer is the author of Cramer's Cube. He is also the founder of Winchester Consulting Group, an Organizational Development and Training Company specializing in the principles of Cramer's Cube and its application to Leadership, Innovation and Diversity Asset Management™.