Panel: Rising Stars: Who is Grooming Tomorrow's Leaders?

Jeffrey Cohn, founder and managing partner, Bench Strength Advisors

Greg Lee, former Senior Vice-President Human Resources, Sears, Roebuck, and Co.

Scott Randall, President and Senior Consultant, BrandGames

Rusty Rueff, CEO, Snocap, Inc.

Mary Anne Walk, President Walk & Associates

What are the ways that companies can keep and search for top talent? Who should be in charge of recruiting new talent? And why isn't enough attention paid to finding the best talent? Greg Lee weighs in, noting that it's ironic how it's the board's job to manage risks, but few boards pay much attention to the biggest risk: not having the right talent at the top management level.

Cohn points out companies need to be grooming younger executives to take over more senior roles. For instance, he points to Starbucks and how they brought in Jim McDonald. But, he contends, this is a controversial tactic. Indeed, Walk notes that her company is currently grooming an employee, but all it is doing is distracting the young man.

Randall points out that companies really need to understand the next generation of leaders when recruiting. For instance, he notes that the younger generation -- the future leaders of America -- work far more independently than previous generations, and may be more used to a more virtual company. Kids today, for instance, play video games against kids in other countries, and are used to an entirely different mode of interaction.

Rueff chimes in, calling them "screen-agers," rather than teenagers, noting that everything they own has a screen in front of or on them. Scott also notes how much a company will spend on a new product, but will they spend the same money on finding the right CEO, for instance? There's also the cost of what happens when a leader fails, notes Lee.

So what does work? Rueff notes that having an intensive interview process, say, having 15 different people interview a candidate is helpful. So is finding out what their dreams and aspirations are. Walk notes that employees have noted that emotional intelligence is the most important thing in a leader.

The panelists also discuss how to treat employees who will never suceed to the title of CEO -- how does one keep them happy without making them feel like second-class citizens, for instance? An attractive compensation plan is one option.