How can IT Operations professionals identify succession planning opportunities?

1 Assess your current situation

The first step to identify succession planning opportunities is to assess your current situation as an IT Operations professional. This includes evaluating your own strengths, weaknesses, goals, and aspirations, as well as the performance, potential, and career paths of your direct reports and peers. You can use various tools and methods to conduct this assessment, such as self-reflection, feedback, 360-degree reviews, skill audits, and competency frameworks. The aim is to identify the gaps and opportunities in your current role and team, and how you can address them through learning, development, mentoring, coaching, or other interventions.

2 Identify your target roles

The next step is to identify your target roles, or the positions that you aspire to or are qualified for in the future. These could be within your current organization, or in another organization or industry that aligns with your interests and values. You can research the requirements, expectations, and challenges of these roles by analyzing job descriptions, talking to current or former incumbents, networking with relevant stakeholders, or joining professional associations or communities. The aim is to understand the skills, knowledge, experience, and competencies that you need to develop or demonstrate to be considered for these roles.

3 Create a development plan

Creating a development plan, or a roadmap that outlines the specific actions and resources to achieve target roles, is the third step. This plan should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) and flexible to accommodate changes in goals and circumstances. The plan should include your current situation (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats), target roles (skills, knowledge, experience, and competencies you need to acquire/improve), development objectives (specific outcomes for each skill or competency), activities (methods/resources to learn/practice each skill/competency), indicators (measures/evidence to track/evaluate progress/results), and timeline (deadlines/milestones to complete activities/objectives).

4 Seek feedback and support

The fourth step is to seek feedback and support, or the input and guidance that you will obtain from others to enhance your development plan and performance. Feedback and support can come from various sources, such as your manager, mentor, coach, peers, colleagues, customers, or external experts. You can seek feedback and support by asking specific questions, requesting suggestions, sharing your challenges and achievements, soliciting recommendations, or joining peer groups or networks. The aim is to gain constructive criticism, recognition, advice, encouragement, and referrals that will help you improve your skills, knowledge, experience, and competencies.

5 Review and update your plan

The fifth step is to review and update your plan, or the process of monitoring and adjusting your development plan and performance according to your feedback, results, and changes. This should be done regularly, at least every quarter or six months, or when a significant event or opportunity arises. To review and update your plan, ask yourself questions such as: what have you achieved so far in terms of development objectives and activities? What feedback or support have you received? What challenges have you faced or overcome? What changes or opportunities have you encountered? And what are your next steps or actions? The goal is to recognize successes, identify areas for improvement, fill any gaps, and adjust the plan accordingly.

6 Showcase your readiness

The final step is to showcase your readiness, or the process of demonstrating and communicating your skills, knowledge, experience, and competencies to your current or potential employers or stakeholders. You can showcase your readiness by updating your resume, cover letter, portfolio, LinkedIn profile, or other online presence with your achievements, credentials, projects, or testimonials. You can also showcase your readiness by applying for internal or external opportunities, participating in interviews, assessments, or simulations, delivering presentations, proposals, or reports, or engaging in networking, volunteering, or mentoring activities. The aim is to highlight your value proposition, differentiate yourself from others, and increase your visibility and credibility as a potential future leader or key employee in the IT Operations field.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?