PLANNING STRATEGIES FOR LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION IN SOME CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN NORTH EASTERN STATES OF NIGERIA

Leadership succession planning is a sine qua non for any organization desiring sustainable performance, growth and internal efficiency, and avoiding vulnerability to retrogression and collapse. The study sought to determine the planning strategies for leadership succession in some construction companies in north east of Nigeria. A modified questionnaire was deployed to elicit responses on nine-item planning strategies for leadership succession from 93 CEOs of SMS construction companies in the study area. Mean and standard deviation were used to describe generated data from the respondents. An hypothesis was formulated (at 0.05 level of significance) and tested with T-test inferential statistics. The result showed that most of the planning strategies, bordering on recruiting and systematic training of potential successors, and designation and installation of the successor to the top leadership position, are rarely practiced. The study concluded that the construction companies in the study area needed to implement more of the leadership succession strategies for sustainable business.