Executive Development and Succession Planning: Qualitative Evidence

Abstract

This article reports on the qualitative findings of a study examining the succession planning process of a large Canadian police force. The richness of the qualitative data resulted in the identification of key themes that were not considered in the quantitative portion of the same study. These themes included: a lack of confidence in the executive development programme; a desire for executive development to be more developmental in nature; person-organisation constraints; a negative image of executives; a desire for experience to play a more pivotal role; and a lack of information on the executive development process. These themes are discussed in terms of their implications for developing the next generation of executives. The results are discussed in relation to the succession planning literature and organisational context.