Bank Director | Succession Plan Archives

The 2023 NFL postseason gave us a clear example of what it looks like when a team doesn’t have a backup. Dallas Cowboys continued to use kicker Brett Maher in games, even though he missed not one or two extra points, but a total of four extra points in the Cowboys’ wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If your financial institution doesn’t have a strong CEO succession plan, it could wind up feeling like the Dallas Cowboys with no options to move forward. There are many parallels between a backup quarterback who is ready and a strong CEO successor.

Recruit Next-Generation Talent
Championship teams recruit talented players for each position. In addition, they recruit the next generation of players. The quarterback knows that there is someone ready to take over his position when he graduates or becomes unexpectedly injured. The backup trains his skills with the expectation that he will one day surpass the current quarterback.

Create Opportunities to Practice Leadership
Backup players are trained, mentored and given the opportunity to practice their skills and leadership. When a team with a talented depth chart fails to designate the backup quarterback, the team is not ready to follow when one of the backups steps in. Talent is not enough. Practice is not enough. The team needs to be ready to follow the next leader. Teams can absolutely have more than one candidate for the backup position, but at some point before the season, they need to make a decision on the depth chart.

Work Together for the Greatness of the Team
The relationship between the quarterback and the backup is strong. They work together for the success of the team. Backup preparation, coupled with clear communication, prepares the entire team for the next generation of leadership — whether that time comes in three years or in an instant.

Three Steps to Cultivate Backup Readiness
1. Timeline.
The backup needs to be ready now, while having the confidence to wait for graduation or retirement. When a team extends a transition timeline in college football, we see players jumping in the transfer portal and playing for a competitor. The same is often true in CEO succession planning. Holding to your timeline helps retain your backup.

2. Position Profile.
Look at your organization chart for your institution today and understand what is needed for each position in the next five years. Create a position profile that combines a job description with what the business will look like at the point of succession. Make sure your bank’s backup options have, or are building, the skills and experiences they will need to align with where the business will be at the point of succession.

3. Assess Your Talent
Much like a wide receiver can move to play safety, your institution needs to find strong talent to fill key position to lead into the future. Use a comprehensive assessment that profiles leadership potential and identifies development opportunities that allows for your “best athletes” to move into a range of roles.

When your bank needs a succession plan or depth chart, follow the example of championship football teams. Understand the timeline, then match the skills of your players with the demands of your organizational chart. A third party can be useful in helping to assess and plan for the future team.

A goal-oriented calendar can be the difference between a productive year and a nonproductive one for compensation committees.

Planning for the year goes beyond scheduling meetings. Compensation committee chairs should have a thoughtful plan that encompasses the goals of the committee for the year. A detailed and in-depth calendar can help both new chairs and experienced chairs craft a plan for the year that considers the short- and long-term needs of the bank.

This article provides planning tips and a cheat sheet for the core topics that should be on the committee’s annual schedule. Though the cheat sheet is specific to public banks, private banks can use the list as well.

What’s on The Agenda
The old saying goes “what gets written down, gets done.” Having a written document sets a roadmap for the year and provides your committee a timeline to stay on track. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

Start with the committee charter, which provides a job description for the committee’s responsibilities. Review the past year’s calendar, agendas and meeting minutes for a head start in creating your annual agenda and stick to it throughout the year.

Identifying key topics at the beginning of the year allows for communication across all stakeholders: members of the committee, your management team, and outside legal and compensation advisors.

Topics should cover both short-term and long-term items. For example, if you are looking to request more shares for your equity plan, this process should start well in advance, and may include updating your equity plan document, modeling ISS and Glass Lewis share guidelines, and redesigning your grant methodology.

Getting your outside advisors involved early can help you avoid last-minute surprises.

Frequency of Meetings
Typically, public banks hold four to six meetings in a year. This allows the committee sufficient time to cover key topics and to review the goals of the committee. In any given year, the agenda may require additional meetings for special events including merger and acquisition activity, creation of new incentive plans and other events.

What (And When) Should Be on The Calendar
Below are key topics that should be on the regular calendar for public banks as well as additional items for consideration any time during the year. The sample covers a typical schedule, however, there is flexibility depending on the subject.

In any given year, items should be evaluated both in terms of the current short-term and the longer term needs of the bank 24 months or more from now.

Is Your Backup Ready? CEO and the Backup Quarterback

What Your Compensation Committee Calendar Should Look Like