1. “Growing Our Successors” A Call To Action
CASA Annual Conference
Monterey, CA
Aug 11, 2016
Dr. Frank Benest

2. Let’s Start with Questions
In the minds of line employees and support staff, what are the images of the work of senior management?
From your perspective, what are the rewards, benefits, and joys of senior management?

3. Overview Demographic crisis Impacts of “retirement wave”
Talent development goals
Exercise: “My most powerful development experience”

4. Overview (con’t) Accelerating growth & development
Cost-effective approaches
Getting started
Resources & “one commitment”

5. The Demographic Context
The Numbers
80 million Baby Boomers
( ) leaving economy
50 million Gen Xers
( ) replacing them
88 million Millennials
( ) entering workforce

6. A Different Time
Why did a whole generation of baby- boomers join public sector?

7. JFK Generation

8. Age Distribution

9. Attracting/Retaining Millennials
You win the war for talent on culture
Retool our organizational cultures
Focus on “purpose”
Offer learning & growth
Provide work flexibility
Promote interaction with
senior mgmt
Provide ongoing feedback
Engage! Engage! Engage!

10. One Public Agency Average age: 50 yrs
“At risk” of retirement within 3 yrs
Administration: 72%
Utilities: 67%
Watershed: 61%

11. The “Retirement Wave”
What are some typical organizational impacts of the “retirement wave”?

12. Typical Organizational Impacts
Over time. . .
Promoted managers or other employees not ready to advance
Difficulty recruiting seasoned managers
Loss of productivity, service problems
Loss of institutional knowledge
Increased recruitment &
training costs
Loss of organizational capacity
“New blood”

13. Talent Development Goals
Create “leader-full” organization
Ensure organization has competencies & capacities needed to meet big challenges
Develop a pool of talent ready & able to step into leadership positions at top levels & throughout organization
(Private sector metric for succession is 3 inside qualified candidates for every key position)

14. Learning Agility Technical skills & knowledge become quickly obsolete
Learn-how is as important as know-how
The key competency of 21st century professionals is learning agility
When was last time we hired
& promoted for learn-how?

15. The Importance of People Skills

16. “My Most Powerful Development Experience”
Two questions:
What did the experience entail?
What were the key ingredients making it such a robust learning & development experience?

17. Accelerating Development
Focus on “learning by doing”
Understand 70/20/10 rule
Seek “sweet spot”

18. Cost-Effective Talent Development
Cross-train
Use internal trainers or “train-the-trainers”
Teach supervisors simple coaching skills
Place emerging leaders in interim positions
Include a learning plan in annual work plan for each employee
Structure assignments to include interaction with advisory boards & community groups
Exchange an aspiring manager with a
neighboring jurisdiction

19. Five Things To Get Started
1. Do workforce analysis
2. Engage dept heads in
assessing readiness of
high-potential employees
3. Offer & promote menu of cost-effective development opportunities
4. Train all supervisors on how to conduct development conversations
5. Offer internships & fellowships

20. Resources ICMA Coaching Program Webinars
www. icma.org/coaching
Webinars
Frank’s Career Compass columns
“How Do I Create a Dream Team of Advisors?”
“Building a Powerful Network”
“How Do I Benefit From a Coach?”
Speed coaching
One-to-one coaching (“Coaches Gallery”)

21. Resources (con’t)
“Retaining and Growing Talent—Strategies to Create Organizational Stickiness,” Public Management, Oct 2008
ICMA Special Report, “Creating a Multi- Dimension Talent Strategy,” 2009

22. “One Thing”
“Beginning on Monday, what is one thing I will try in order to grow our successors?”