Legend. Personality. Character. Icon. Some leaders inspire these titles. They are exceptional personalities that have taken up challenges and delivered. Their achievements are remarkable. Their conduct is exemplary. With such outstanding records, it is difficult to find many of the same kind. That is big challenge. When these leaders leave, for whatever reason, how big will be the gap.

How long will it be before we can fill this gap. In most companies the story is that such leaders are larger than all else. They are the miracle makers. They are the do-it-all fighters. They run the show. They stage the show. They lead show. If they do not show up, what will happen to the show? The show, as we know, must go on. To ensure that companies need to prepare “leaders to be”. Most companies call it succession planning.

We are not just talking about retiring CEOs or C-suite leaders; we are talking about the leaders who leave due to various internal and external factors. AIIR Consulting has some telling statistics. CEO turnover is the highest in the last 20 years with average tenure of a CEO being less than five years.

More than 74 percent of leaders report they are unprepared and lack the training for the challenges they face in their roles. Sixty percent of executives fail within the first 18 months of being promoted or hired. Only 35 percent of organizations have a formalized succession planning process for critical roles.

The last point is a reflection of “leaders to be” negligence that costs companies an arm and leg. According to Society of Human Resource Management, the average cost of a new hire is about USD 4000, and........

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