A: Succession planning has been greatly debated, especially among IT leaders. However, there have not been many instances where a CIO or an IT head has taken the efforts to structurally prepare a succession plan.

However, at Maruti, we follow a very trusted structure to create the leader of the future. We have a well defined matrix which the entire organisation follows. In a nut-shell, the matrix involves:

• Defining competency levels for each job (including that of a CIO).
• Conducting a rigorous skills assessment. In case of IT, the assessment includes evaluation of both people management skills and technical know-how competency.
• Creating of systems and processes for regular assessments based on the matrices defined and having mentorship programmes at various levels.
• Providing regular feedback to the persons who have been groomed.
• Monitoring and developing leadership qualities.

It greatly depends on the mentor how he/she would like to create a leadership pipeline. Some CIOs do it as part of their KRA, some do it out of passion, while a few neglect this aspect.

A: I would personally pick two qualities as very important ones that we should look for in future leaders. One is the efficiency of the person you wish to groom and the second is the ability of the person to take up a transformational role outside typical comfort zones.

Maruti uses HR tools like '360 Degree' to assess these competencies at 'C' level and thus decides whether the person has the potential to lead or not. At other levels, the company has established 'Assessment Centres' to perform this task.

Having spent decades in the IT leadership role, I suggest that CIOs take up succession planning as a serious task to avoid the confusion that results from neglecting the function.

A: I am a great advocate of nurturing and promoting in-house talent. In the current circumstances, the technology functions can be outsourced but it is very difficult for an outsider to understand the business processes of a company. An insider can easily align the technology with business and deliver desired results but an outsider cannot.

Besides, picking up leaders from an internal pool has a couple of other benefits too. One, they already have a very good bonding with other business unit heads, which is a mandatory requirement for a leader. Secondly, by doing so, you motivate the whole workforce of the company and they get a sense of what is in store for them in the future.

A: I would not call it a complex job but it does require a great deal of seriousness – much more than what it is currently getting. More than anything else, the process of grooming needs to be institutionalised. Enterprises need to set up competency centres to ensure that the process – from identifying the opportunity to creating successful leaders – works flawlessly.

There are simple steps to follow :

• Identify the person and opportunity
• Create a grooming plan
• Measure progress at regular intervals
• Provide feedback and give room for improvement

Last but not the least, we can depend on the HR to assist us with processes and frameworks, but in the end, it’s up to us as to how passionately we use them to groom our successors.