Use succession business metrics to develop strategies to retain top talent.

Build a foundation of knowledge management to handle lost knowledge with employee departures.

ATD and i4cp found that four in five organizations have a designated talent development leader or leaders. The bad news is that only 20 percent of organizations have formal succession plans in place for those talent leaders. Clearly, as talent leaders’ roles become greater and the organization becomes more dependent on their work, the need for a succession plan for this position becomes more pertinent, especially to avoid organizational culture deterioration and the loss of institutional knowledge. But where can talent development professionals look to fill their...

They designed and implemented the Haworth Leadership Institute (HLI), which included development programs for managers and leaders at all levels of the organization. Thus, in 2014, Harten and the HR team set out to design and launch a program to help them build these skills: The Aspiring Leader Program.

Change the way leaders are identified and developed at all levels of your organization.

Decision making doesn’t always require an immediate reply.

The argument: Improve the leadership selection process rather than focus on development. How does your organization build its leadership bench strength? Many talent development professionals back the notion that it is critical to put in place tools and processes that identify and select people with leadership potential. Meanwhile, others wager that it's more effective—and predictable—to invest resources in developing internal candidates. Two thought leaders share their contrasting viewpoints on the topic.