ForConstructionPros.com

A succession plan is critical to the future of any business, and James Roberts, 2006 chairman of the National Asphalt Pavement Association, emphasized the importance of developing tomorrow's asphalt industry leaders at the recent NAPA 2006 Convention.

Roberts stated that "a proper business continuation plan certainly requires the next generation of leaders in that business be properly prepared for the future. The leaders of tomorrow — the next generation — must understand and empathize with the needs of the employees — the experts — and let them do their work."

The leaders of tomorrow will need intellectual horsepower, strategic thinking skills, the ability to constantly adapt to change, increased organizational and personal communication skills, the ability to manage diversity, and the ability to delegate tasks and responsibilities to others.

A successful succession plan requires leadership development, with ample coaching and mentoring to develop the full potential of rising leaders.

According to Roberts, the leaders of tomorrow have a strong desire for challenging and meaningful work. They are less trusting of organizations and less accepting of traditional hierarchy and traditional approaches to management. Roberts recently asked 12 of his company's (Granite Construction) high potential leaders what traits they believe leaders of the future need to possess. Their response: Leaders need to be visionary, able to delegate, to be humble, to have passion, to be personable, to be positive, to inspire, to be aggressive risk takers, to have fun at work, to make others feel important, to be involved in the community, to be environmental stewards, to be one of the hardest working employees in the company, to do what they say the are going to do, to be disciplined, to set the standards in the company, to make tough decisions, and to create long-term opportunities for the next generation.