Let’s face it — no one stays in the same seat forever. Leaders retire, move on, or sometimes make a sudden career change that surprises everyone. That’s where succession planning comes in. 

A smart, forward-thinking succession plan ensures that when someone steps down, someone else is ready to step up — without missing a beat. It keeps the momentum going, protects hard-earned progress, and sends a strong message to your team: We believe in growing from within.

Done well, succession planning ensures your organization is prepared — not just to survive leadership transitions, but to thrive through them. It helps you retain top talent, allocate development resources efficiently, and demonstrate a commitment to long-term growth.

Here are the four key steps for succession planning:

• Identify critical roles and competencies : Go beyond titles and think about impact. Which roles are essential to your organization’s success? What technical skills and leadership behaviors are necessary to thrive in those positions? Clarifying these competencies helps you define the kind of leadership your organization needs to succeed.
• Create targeted development plans : Once you’ve identified high-potential individuals, tailor growth opportunities to bridge their current capabilities with future leadership needs. This can include mentorship, cross-functional projects, leadership coaching, or stretch assignments. Aligning development plans with both individual career aspirations and organizational goals boosts motivation and ensures your bench strength is both deep and strategic.
• Communicate transparently : Letting team members know they’re being considered for future leadership isn’t just a morale booster — it’s a retention strategy. When employees feel seen and supported, they’re more likely to stay engaged and committed. Encourage open dialogue about career paths, readiness expectations, and the timelines for progression. Transparency builds a culture of trust and clarity.
• Track progress and refine your approach : Effective succession planning is dynamic, not static. Regularly revisit your plans, check in on development goals, and adjust based on performance, feedback, and evolving business needs. Use measurable outcomes — such as readiness assessments, promotion rates, or engagement surveys — to gauge effectiveness.

Companies that prioritize this work today will be better positioned to lead tomorrow. Leadership transitions aren’t a matter of if, but a matter of when.

If your organization is ready to take the next step in building a resilient leadership pipeline, explore PeopleThink’s Keep it Real Leadership Program. It’s designed to help you identify and grow the leaders of tomorrow—today. Let’s future-proof your team together.

Till the next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Who’s Next? Why Succession Planning Deserves a Seat at the Table appeared first on PeopleThink.

Many researchers have identified a correlation between an employee’s personal and professional development, and an organization’s growth as a whole.

Increased job satisfaction, higher employee engagement, improved retention, enhanced productivity, and a more skilled and adaptable workforce are some of the benefits of employee development.

Companies that invest in their employees’ development demonstrate a commitment to their growth, which can lead to a positive organizational culture and a competitive edge in the market.

If you want to keep your people and grow your business, you must provide opportunities for your team to learn and grow. The best way to do that is by creating and implementing effective employee development programs.

Here’s How.

Ensure roles and responsibilities are well-defined.
Roles often morph over time as responsibilities expand or business needs change. This can be frustrating to the individual in the role – and detrimental to the team/organization – if training around new skill requirements and responsibilities isn’t included with the change. It’s also difficult to hire for, train for or promote someone into that role if you haven’t updated the current skills and responsibilities for the role.

Create career path outlines.
Employees want to know what growth opportunities are available in the organization. Create career path outlines for each job family to help employees build personal development plans.

Make performance management an ongoing process.
The annual performance review – dreaded by managers and hated by employees – typically focuses on weaknesses and rarely includes a development component. How inspiring is that? Effective performance management is a continuous process (not an event) and consists of a development component that builds on strengths and develops areas that are not strengths.

Develop for future needs.
Development plans should consider organizational goals and the skills and behaviors employees will need to contribute to achieving those goals. They should also take into account the skills and behaviors employees will need in the future to succeed (yes, even if it’s not in your organization). Make a list of top skills required and design training programs to help them acquire those skills.

Consider employee goals and interests.
It’s also essential that individual employee career goals and personal interests be considered. All too often, employees have skills and talents that are under-utilized. Take the time to identify, develop, and leverage those hidden talents and unspoken interests. Employees want to use their strengths and feel that they’re contributing to the organization in a meaningful way.

Implementing and supporting leadership development and training programs for your employees will help them grow and develop their style and prepare them to lead their teams in the future.

Till the next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Employee Development: Building a CULTURE of Learning! appeared first on PeopleThink.

The truth is that Organizations and leaders have been forced to pivot on many fronts over the past 2.5 years. As a result, new business models like hybrid workplaces and creative delivery platforms have sprung up. What hasn’t kept pace is our thinking around employee engagement and retention.

Working with companies of varied sizes and industries, I’ve identified four key strategies that can help you retain and grow your team:

1) Help your employees feel valued by communicating how their goals align with team and organizational goals. Provide them with opportunities to build on their strengths, learn new skills and prepare for the future needs of the company. Development can happen in many different forms: on-the-job training, personal development, cross-functional projects, coach and/or mentor, special projects… The important thing is that it is available and encouraged.

2) Help them feel connected by communicating with them clearly and consistently. When leaders communicate regularly and build a sense of connectedness with their employees, those employees are happier and more productive.

3) Do you have career roadmaps and succession plans in place? If not, what are you waiting for? Help your employees feel challenged by communicating the next level in their career path and what they need to do to get there. Give them temporary assignments that will stretch their skills and comfort level.

4) In the leaner work environment today, most employees are feeling the brunt of doing more with less. Recognize their efforts by saying “thank you” early and often. Don’t wait until review time to tell them what a good job they’re doing. And be specific – what was the situation, what did they do, and what was the impact? Applaud the behavior you want to see repeated and emulated.

Don’t take your employees for granted. As a leader, you can help them believe that what they are doing has purpose and meaning. You can show them that their leader cares about them as a person and is equally invested in their growth.

And most of all, keep in mind that new and emerging leaders need the right training to succeed in the new role. Join my free webinar, Leadership Power Hour to learn how engaging with your team can set you up for success.

Till the next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Strategies to Retain Your Employees appeared first on PeopleThink.

A recent Forbes article explains how high-trust work environments enable team members to feel valued, heard, and capable of doing their best work.

Here are my tips for establishing trust:

Be willing to put in the work. Know that trust takes time to build and must be earned. Don’t expect people to trust you just because you are now their leader. Be sure that your actions align with your words and that you tell the truth. Always. Remember that trust can be easily broken and is very difficult to repair.

Communicate honestly. Communicate clearly and regularly. Share as much as you can, especially about business information that may impact the team or their work. Listen. Ask for feedback, ideas, solutions. Model open, honest and respectful communication so the team will mirror that among themselves.

Be accountable. Do what you say you are going to do. Be sure everyone clearly understands expectations and the impact of not meeting those expectations. Challenge your team to higher performance goals and establish an environment where they hold themselves – and each other – accountable for results.  Include regular progress reports, open sharing of mistakes and lessons learned, and team discussions on how to move through roadblocks.

Be consistent. Don’t keep changing the rules or make rules apply to some and not to others. When something changes, explain why and encourage a dialogue around it. Oh, and did I say, “listen”?

Model the behavior. To earn trust, you must show trust. Set clear goals and expectations and then trust your team to do what they were hired to do.  When something goes wrong, get all the facts before drawing a conclusion. Respond in a constructive, consistent way.

Be truthful. Always. Trust is the key ingredient to all successful relationships. Tell the truth. As my dad used to say, “One lie leads to another, and before you know it, you’ve forgotten the first lie you told.”

“Contrary to what most people believe, trust is not some soft, illusive quality that you either have or you don’t; rather, trust is a pragmatic, tangible, actionable asset that you can create.” – Stephen Covey

Till next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Trust in the Workplace  appeared first on PeopleThink.

It amazes me that despite this research, organizations (and individuals) still tend to focus on developing hard skills. In 2010, employers spent $171.5 billion on employee training and only 27.6% of those training dollars went toward soft skills, according to the Association for Talent Development (ATD).

It’s time to put more of our dollars and development efforts where they really count. In our increasingly global, dynamic and service-oriented way of working, organizations need leaders, teams and individual contributors who have the personal behaviors and interpersonal skills that will help them grow and thrive.

So what are those skills?  In my work with organizations to create leadership and employee development initiatives, these are the 10 soft skills/behaviors (in alpha order) that leaders most often tell me they need in their people.

Collaboration – the ability to meld ideas and share credit with others.

Creativity – initiating new approaches to projects, solving problems, etc.

Effective communication – clear and concise speaking and writing paired with active listening.

Emotional intelligence – self-aware and sensitive to others, empathetic.

Flexibility – adaptable to change.

Growth mindset – recognizing they don’t know it all. Being willing to learn.

Leadership – the ability to lead, even without the title.

Reliability – do what you say you’re going to do by when you say you’re going to do it.

Resilience – the ability to continue pursuing the goal despite roadblocks and challenges.

Teamwork – sharing the work and supporting others toward a common goal.

Organizations who want to remain competitive and individuals who want to increase their marketability would do well to put more emphasis on identifying gaps in these skills and then creating a comprehensive development plan to close those gaps.

One of the best ways to identify gaps is through a behavioral assessment. The one I use with leaders, teams and individuals is Lumina Spark.  Lumina Spark is a state-of-the-art psychometric assessment that provides a framework to help people achieve better self-awareness and learn how to improve their working relationships with others.

Check out the Lumina Spark fact sheet and then contact me to learn how PeopleThink can help your organization build its people capability.

Till next time,

Karen

The post Soft Skills Win in the Race for Job Success! appeared first on PeopleThink.

You chat. She asks, “What would you say are your two greatest accomplishments?”

How do you respond?

Would something quickly come to mind? Would you be able to easily describe your accomplishments in a way that is clear, concise and compelling? Or would you hem and haw while searching your mental database and then say the first thing that pops up? Or, worse, would you simply panic and head for the bar?

My point is, you never know when an opportunity is going to present itself, so you need to be prepared.

In my last blog, Leadership and Learning – An Essential Combination, I talked about keeping your competencies relevant and up to date and continuing to learn. It’s also important to periodically pause and take stock of your accomplishments. Write them down. Prioritize them. Categorize them – tie them to relevant competencies so you can use them as specific examples that demonstrate the competency. Having this information in mind and/or easily accessible will help you in situations like the scenario above and in performance conversations, your resume or bio, or other situations where you need to share who you are.

Here’s a simple template you can use to capture your accomplishments. Use the Situation-Action-Result (SAR) format to describe the accomplishment and then define the competencies associated with it.

SITUATION: What was the goal or challenge?

ACTION: What was your role? What did you do to address the goal or challenge?

RESULT: What was the result (your accomplishment)?

What COMPETENCIES did you use?

When opportunity comes knocking, be ready to open the door!

Till next time,

Karen

The post When Opportunity Knocks, Be Ready! appeared first on PeopleThink.

Or…you’re in a job you hate, but, “it’s a job” and you are so overworked or busy trying to keep that job that you have no time to even THINK about what’s next, let alone PREPARE for it. There’s just no way, right? Wrong!

Whether you like your job or hate it, keeping your skills and knowledge up-to-date and preparing for what’s next is a must. Here’s a “get real” process to help you get started.

Conduct an inventory. Look at your last performance review. Make a list of both strengths and development areas. Then think about what you want to do next. If you are currently working and want to progress on your career path, what skills and knowledge will you need to get to the next level? Add these to your list. If you are looking for a new opportunity, what are the requirements of your target position? Which of those requirements are you lacking? Add these to your list.

Create a personal development plan. Select one or two areas from your inventory that you will focus on in the next three months. Do some research to find resources to help you develop in those areas. Remember, learning doesn’t only occur in the classroom. Create specific development actions for each skill/knowledge area. Don’t forget to include target dates on your plan!

Execute the plan. Post your plan somewhere visible – your calendar, your refrigerator, your desktop. Stay focused! Concentrate on the one or two areas you’ve prioritized – don’t get distracted by the other areas on your inventory list. You can work on them in your next plan. Take a melting pot approach. Keep your eyes and ears open for articles, blogs by experts, presentations, webinars, etc., on your focus areas. Learning comes in many forms, from many places. Capture it! Be accountable and/or enlist someone’s help to keep you accountable. Reward yourself for completing your development goals.

Update your resume/personal “infomercial.” When you have gained proficiency in the skill/knowledge area, add it to your resume, if appropriate. Practice incorporating your new knowledge/skill into your interview discussions. Blend it into the evolving “you.”

Review, revisit, and revise the plan. Spend some time reviewing your plan and how it worked. Did you set reasonable goals? Were the resources worthwhile? Did you find additional/alternate ones you’ll use next time? Revisit your inventory. What are the skills/knowledge areas you’re going to work on next? Create and execute a revised personal development plan that reflects your new focus areas and development goals.

Putting a plan in place to continually add to your abilities and knowledge is an investment that will keep your market value on an upward trend. And…you never know when that golden opportunity will come along. Be prepared!

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” – Chinese proverb

Till next time,
Karen

The post Get Real About Getting Ready for What’s Next appeared first on PeopleThink.

In my last blog on this topic I talked about tips for women entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses. This time I’d like to share some tips for women who want to grow their careers in the corporate environment. (Men, these tips will work for you, too!)

First of all, it’s important to understand that you are in charge of your own destiny.  You need to keep an open mind, be curious, and get really clear about what YOU want for your life and career, and stop listening to those voices telling what you “should want.” Remember the old saying, “if you don’t know where you’re going any road will get you there.”

Assess where you are. When you’ve decided what you want, take inventory. What skills do you have, what skills do you need? How will you attain those skills? What are your values and interests? What are some internal blocks or other obstacles that have held you back so far in your career?

Understand trends. Bersin by Deloitte recently published a research report about HR and talent in 2017. Here are a few of their predictions based on trends they saw.

-Organizational design will be challenged everywhere. Organizations have to be able to “focus on customer-centric learning, experimentation, and time to market.” Functional groups should be organized into teams that are “smaller, flatter, and more empowered. Leaders should focus more on hands-on leadership, and less on leadership from behind a desk.”

-Culture and engagement will remain top priorities. Deloitte research shows that “86% of business leaders rate “culture” as one of the more urgent talent issues, yet only 14% understand what the right culture is.”

-Human performance and well-being will become a critical part of HR, talent and leadership. Employee engagement levels have not improved in the past 10 years, productivity is down, and U.S. workers take 4 to 5 fewer vacation days today than they did in 1998.

What opportunities do you see in these predictions based on your skills, experience and competencies?

Assemble your supporters. Carla Harris, Vice Chairman, Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley, talks about 3 important people you need to cultivate to help advance your career: an advisor, a mentor, and a sponsor. Their roles are different.

Your advisor is there to help you understand who’s who in the organization, provide context about the way things are done, and answer the “dumb questions” you think you should already know the answer to. Your mentor is the one you share your hopes and dreams with. Maybe they’re already doing what you want to do and can share how they got there. Or maybe they’re in a different organization, but know you well and can give you honest feedback and advice. You can tell your mentor both the good and the bad stuff. The sponsor plays a different role altogether. This is the person – maybe someone on the senior management team – who advocates for you when you are not in the room. This is the person you share only the good stuff with.

Learn continuously. Not just to attain the skills to achieve your current goal, but also so that you are always ready for the next opportunity. As we all know, the world changes at a rapid pace. The job or skill “de jour” may not be needed in a year or two. Keep up to date on technology, pursue new interests, read, network, stay informed about what’s going on in the world around you. Many have watched their careers go adrift because they failed to do this.

Give back.  As you move ahead in your career, never forget how you got there. Be willing to be a mentor or advocate for those in whom you see potential. Give honest productive feedback. Help others avoid the bumps you had along the road. Be willing to give informational interviews.

And, of course, don’t stop believin’.

Till next time,

Karen

The post Women Supporting Women – Getting Real About Your Career appeared first on PeopleThink.

A cover story last month in the San Francisco Business Times entitled, “From Boomers to Bust?” suggested that “the pace of retirements among baby boomers is about to explode, and it has big consequences for the Bay Area Economy and its workforce.” The impact will be felt more in the Bay Area, the article says, because in addition to the population being older in the region than the rest of California, “the area is in the process of adding more than 1 million jobs by 2040, with talent shortages already a factor across a range of industries.”

Nationwide, an estimated 10,000 boomers a day celebrate their 65^th birthday.  And according to Gallup, by 2029, 20% of the population will be over 65. Clearly, companies have some serious workforce planning to do, especially those with an older employee base.

That being said, if we look at this situation through the lens of possibilities, I see some real opportunities for both boomers and those who would follow in their footsteps.

While many boomers are anxious to leave the pace and politics of corporate life, not all of them dream of replacing that with more leisurely pursuits. In fact, quite a few plan to keep working in some capacity – either for financial reasons or for a sense of purpose.  If this applies to you, then get busy preparing to capture the possibilities. This might be any of the following or none of them (leisure on!). You’re at a place where it’s entirely up to you. Here are some possibilities:

• • Work with your current employer to reduce hours or create a more flexible schedule
  • Become a mentor to help prepare the next line of leaders
  • Turn your hobby into a side business (e.g., become a small space gardener)
  • Leverage the skills you’ve built over the years and consult
  • Volunteer for a cause that’s important to you

For those who are just starting out or are several years into their career, the exodus of baby boomers can open doors (and windows!) of opportunity, especially in leadership. The key is to have a growth mindset (always be learning) and to leverage some tips from the Year of Possibilities framework:

Pay attention to what’s around you. Where are the opportunities? What do you need to do to get there? Take a personal skill /behavior inventory. Get feedback from others. Use it!

Listen…really listen. Think about a team or department leader you admire. Set up an informational interview to gain knowledge and insight on how to lead successfully in the organization. Listen and take notes. Create an action plan. Implement it.

Dream Big. If you don’t dream for yourself, no one else will.  You don’t want a “regret list,” you want a “possibility list.”  Say what you want out loud.  Tell your friends, family and partner.  The more you say it, the more real it becomes.

And whether you’re a boomer or movin’ on up, don’t stop believin’!

Till next time,

Karen

The post Possibilities Abound as Baby Boomers Retire appeared first on PeopleThink.

The majority of the responses fell into three major categories. All good advice!

DON’T BE AFRAID.

-It’s all about attitude. Have a great attitude, show up with it and leave with it every day.

-Don’t tell people what you think they want to hear. Be yourself and believe in your gut!

-Always take a calculated risk – it will pay off in the long run.

-Every challenge in life builds strength and character.

-Never let fear hold you back from life.

-Be yourself and don’t be afraid to speak your truth!

-Be more assertive and confident. Be more direct, and STOP apologizing!

DARE TO DREAM!

-Listen, observe and learn – be like a sponge and absorb everything you can. Wisdom is precious.

-Be patient. You WILL get everything you aspire to. Calm down!

-Don’t take the easy road, and dare to follow your dreams.

-Have enough faith and confidence in yourself to seize opportunities.

-Don’t worry what other people think about you.

-Carpe diem –seize the day.

-Plan ahead, but still enjoy the moment.

-Live the life that YOU were meant to live.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF.

-Follow your heart. Have as much fun as possible!

-Treat yourself with kindness and respect and don’t allow yourself to be abused by anyone.

-Take your time. Life goes faster than you could possibly imagine.

-Enjoy the body that you have, it will change quicker than you think.

-Don’t be compelled to accommodate the needs of others.

-Pick a career that you love and not one that your parents think is good for you.

-Turn off that negative recording in your head. See that you truly are beautiful just the way you are.

-Always have someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to.

-Everything is better after a good bottle of wine with a friend. (I second that!)

Of course, all of this wisdom comes from having learned these things through a variety of ups and downs on the roller coaster of life. And for that, one final piece of wisdom submitted…

“Don’t regret decisions you have made. Live with them and get on with life. It is way too short.”

Till next time,

Karen

The post If Only I Knew Then What I Know Now appeared first on PeopleThink.

Years ago I joined an organization, Mentoring Circles, to mentor women entrepreneurs around developing processes, business acumen, and leadership.  I was invited to join the Board of Directors – which I did – and continued to mentor.  I got so much out of it. Not only was it thrilling to “give back” by helping other women identify, plan for, and achieve their goals,  it was an incredible learning experience.  Through mentoring I gained more insight into people, learned from different perspectives, and built a number of cherished, long-term relationships.

In my last blog I talked about some ways to achieve wellness. Giving back is one of those ways. And mentoring is a way to give back. Is there someone who has reached out to you for advice? Or someone you’ve noticed who has great potential yet needs some guidance on how to navigate the organization to get the recognition and opportunities they deserve? Consider volunteering to be their mentor.

Now don’t get me wrong. Good mentoring relationships don’t just happen instantaneously.  There needs to be mutual trust, willingness to learn (in both directions), and commitment to the partnership (meeting on a regular basis, open and honest communication, follow through, etc.) As a mentor, you need to be:

– Available and accessible

– A coach and advisor

– An effective listener

– A confidant and sounding board

– A role model

– A friend and ally

– Willing to learn from your mentee

To get the most out of the mentoring relationship, your mentee needs to be:

– Committed to the mentoring process

– Clear about goals and objectives

– Proactive in scheduling meetings

– Prepared and accountable

– Receptive to feedback/advice

– Open and honest

– Willing to learn from you

It’s important to have some structure around the partnership. I recommend that you commit to a 12-month partnership and then reassess. That will give you time to really get to know each another. Also, establish goals and timelines at the outset.  Regular meetings are essential – schedule them several months in advance and commit. If you find one or the other of you keeps missing or rescheduling, it’s time to have a serious conversation about the level of commitment. It’s also very important to be open and honest when things aren’t working. Sometimes they don’t. If this is the case, a growth exercise – for both of you – is to figure out how to end the partnership in a positive way.

Does your organization have a mentoring program? Or have you been a mentor? If so, I’d love to hear about your experience. Please comment.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

Till next time,

Karen

The post Giving AND Receiving Through Mentoring appeared first on PeopleThink.

1. Conduct an inventory. Look at your last performance review. Make a list of both strengths and development areas. Then think about what you want to do next. If you are currently working and want to progress in your career path, what skills and knowledge are needed to get to the next level? Add these to your list. If you are looking for a new opportunity, what are the requirements of your target position? Which ones are you lacking? Add these to your list.

2. Create a personal development plan. Select one or two areas from step one that you will focus on in the next three months. Do some research to find resources to help you develop in those areas. Remember, learning doesn’t only occur in the classroom. Create specific development actions for each skill/knowledge area. Don’t forget to include target dates on your plan!

3. Execute the plan. Post your plan somewhere visible – your calendar, your refrigerator, your desktop. Stay focused! Concentrate on the one or two areas you’ve prioritized – don’t get distracted by the other areas on your inventory list. You can work on them in your next plan. Take a melting pot approach. Keep your eyes and ears open for articles, blogs by experts, presentations, webinars, etc. on your focus areas. Learning comes in many forms, from many places. Capture it! Be accountable and/or enlist someone’s help to keep you accountable. Reward yourself for completing your development goals.

4. Update your resume/personal “infomercial.” When you have gained proficiency in the skill/knowledge area, add it to your resume, if appropriate. Practice incorporating your new knowledge/skill into your interview discussions. Blend it into the evolving “you.”

5. Review, revisit, and revise the plan. Spend some time reviewing your plan and how it worked. Did you set reasonable goals? Were the resources worthwhile? Did you find additional/alternate ones you’ll use next time? Revisit your inventory. What are the skills/knowledge areas you’re going to work on next? Create and execute a revised personal development plan that reflects your new focus areas and development goals.

Putting a plan in place to continually add to your abilities and knowledge is an investment that will keep your market value on an upward trend. And…you never know when that golden opportunity will come along. Be prepared!

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” – Chinese proverb

Till next time,
Karen

The post When Opportunity Knocks, Be Ready!!! appeared first on PeopleThink.