There isn’t a leader today that isn’t feeling the pain of finding, growing, and retaining the right talent to deliver on the pivotal bottom-line expectations of their Boards and key stakeholders that ensure health, growth, and sustainability.

According to the World Economic Forum, “businesses see talent as more strategically limiting to their performance than availability of capital.”  When it comes to critical roles, the stakes are even higher – positions that are hard to fill, are in high demand, and require unique capabilities are critical to the company’s future readiness. Strategically identifying and investing in critical roles gives your organization a competitive advantage, but only if done right. Critical role candidate selection and preparation must be executed thoughtfully, honoring the nuances and context of your organization’s strategic and cultural objectives. In our experience, the real challenge with high-stakes talent planning is knowing: 1) where to focus, and 2) what to do now to implement and sustain a successful critical-role talent strategy. In this paper, we’ll explore how to ensure that your organization has a robust pipeline ready to meet its future needs. Together we’ll explore:

• Why leaders need to focus on critical role planning now
• How to identify critical roles, including the less apparent yet essential positions that may fly under your radar
• The key elements of a critical role talent strategy that can serve as a hidden accelerator for your company’s growth
• How to future-proof your organization’s leadership pipeline and ensure that your leaders possess the necessary skills to successfully navigate and shape the future
• Key methods to engage your critical roles to keep them inspired and committed to stay and succeed