Succession Planning for Security Departments

Survival of the fittest may work in the animal kingdom, but grooming the next generation of CSOs requires a substantial investment of time, a sincere interest in employee development and a dash of humility. Are you ready for succession planning?

Building (and then consistently updating) targeted growth plans for each employee makes it easier to keep track of individual progress and to keep a succession plan alive. The danger with succession planning is that good intentions can succumb to the everyday pressures of the CSO workload. "Two out of three companies just have a bunch of development crap wrapped in their succession plan that doesn't add value," says Barton.

Though Wipprecht laments the amount of work that goes into succession planning, he crows over its results. "I have four directors, and any one of the four is smarter than I am and can do a better job than I'm doing," he says. "But that drives them on. They work hard every day and, from a competitive standpoint, all four know they have an opportunity at this position."

The lesson is simple: Treat succession planning as a regular part of operations, and the benefits will go far beyond the security of knowing that the future leadership of your business unit is assured. Your tenure as CSO will also be a more successful one. "You'll have a stronger organization with a lot more loyalty and buy-in from people," says Moore. "And at the back end, you're going to put out a better and more professional product for senior management."