Exit Of Twitter Execs Is Reminder For Need Of A Deep Bench Of Talent

Twitter recently lost a second senior executive who was responsible for content and safety issues at the social media platform, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The departures are the latest reminder about the importance of having a solid bench of talent at companies and organizations.

Not Alone

When it comes to executive departures, however, Twitter is hardly alone.

“Apple Inc., known for its stability at the top, is facing a new challenge: an unprecedented level of turnover in its executive ranks,” Bloomberg said in March.

“Over a stretch that began in the second half of 2022, Apple has lost about a dozen high-ranking executives. Most of these people carried the title of vice president, which is just below the senior vice president level that reports to Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook. They are some of the most important figures at Apple, responsible for day-to-day operation of many core functions.”

Then of course, there are the vacancies in key positions throughout organizations caused by the lingering efforts of the Great Resignation. Not to mention the job openings created by remote workers who refuse to follow corporate mandates that they return to brick and mortar offices.

Continued Low Levels Of Confidence

Only 12% of companies report confidence in the strength of their bench, according to DDI’s 2023 Global Leadership Forecast Report. That’s hardly an improvement over 2021, which showed only 11% had confidence in their bench of leaders.

As I wrote then, DDI said the corporate leadership deficit crisis could “be traced to a failure by companies to provide leadership development and transition training for newly hired and current executives…the highest global average rating for bench strength was 18% in 2011. It has been on the decline ever since.”

Organizations without a strong team of people to fill planned or unexpected vacancies can put themselves at greater risk for a crisis. The lack of talent can create questions a company’s ability to live up to its brand and fulfill its commitment to consumers and stakeholders.

Benefits

There are other benefits to having a good ‘farm team’ of executives.

According to DDI’s 2023 report, compared to businesses with weak benches, companies that report strong benches are:

• Ten times more likely to have employees rate their leader quality as “very good” or “excellent.”
• Six times more likely to be capable of engaging and retaining top talent.
• Five times more likely to be able to prevent employee burnout.
• Three times more likely to be among financially top-performing organizations.

Secret For Success

What’s the secret to having a strong leadership bench?

“Companies with a strong bench invest heavily in identifying and developing high potential talent with diverse capabilities, enabling the organization to be more agile meeting business challenges,” DDI’s report concluded.