"Once you get to this point in the competition, it's going to be tough to rely on just five or six players….The good thing about our bench is we're . . . stronger than any team we're playing," said Sheryl Swoopes, a key player on the Women's Basketball Team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Sheryl knew that due to the team's terrific bench strength, they had the skill and the endurance to call upon when competition was the strongest. The result, of course, is that the American Women's Basketball team won the gold.

Is your company prepared to “win the gold”? Do you have the bench strength you need to provide the leadership muscle when your company grows rapidly, faces increasing competition and/or loses some of its key players?

One of our long-term clients is a large global technology company. The company maintains market dominance by steadily increasing its capital spending and by out-performing all other market competitors. Like many other global corporations that produce high-demand products, the company is facing increasing pressure from competitors. Their continued growth has required rapid adjustments in management and technological leadership in order to maintain a competitive advantage.

Larcen Consulting Group is partnering with the company to increase their bench strength, to identify leadership talent and to design and facilitate programs designed to prepare managers for leadership positions. Our shared goal is to produce a qualified group of leaders who can assume expanded responsibilities as the company continues to drive its vision.

A manager development program is now in its second year of operation in the company’s corporate headquarters and has been customized to the company’s vision, goals and strategies. The program follows a clearly defined process:

1. A group of high potential managers is selected for the program.
2. Mentors are selected from among senior staff.
3. Each participating manager completes an Executive Assessment process including online administered self-assessments and a customized 360-feedback instrument. In addition, a number of people who work most closely with each participant are interviewed.
4. A Larcen consultant assists each individual in interpreting the results of the assessments and prepares an Individual Development Plan.
5. Mentors are trained to provide regular one-on-one coaching with the manager on an ongoing basis and to help the manager implement his/her Development Plan.
6. A Larcen Consultant provides coaching quarterly with each manager and each mentor.

The results of this program have been outstanding. According to post-assessment data plus feedback from the mentors, direct reports and peers, the managers in the year one class demonstrated significant improvement. (See chart below). Five of the fifteen managers were actually promoted to higher positions of responsibility by the end of the program.

For any company to “go for the gold” and to achieve their vision, they must be able to sustain strong and reasonably consistent leadership. That can only be accomplished through the proper preparation of high potential candidates for succession to leadership positions. Not having adequate bench strength—the pool of strong “players” ready to “join the team”—the company will be severely constrained. The answer is to identify your high potentials, provide them adequate development opportunities, and prepare them to step up to the plate when needed.