This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Ask a leadership team who would take each of their jobs if they left in a month. Count how many answers are a name rather than a pause.

Why the list is not a pipeline

Most companies have a succession slide. It is updated once a year, contains four names, and gets opened when somebody resigns — at which point it turns out one of the four has left, one was never told, and two were nominated on the strength of being reliable rather than on any assessment of potential. That is not a pipeline. A pipeline is a mechanism: critical roles identified deliberately, potential assessed against something written down, development that is actually delivered, and a bench you can measure. I have been on both sides of that resignation conversation.

What this course actually covers

Six blocks. First, the succession mechanism: which roles are genuinely critical, the impact and risk matrix, the 9-box grid, developing the pool, what candidates are told, and how the system is audited so it does not decay. Second, talent management more broadly — how an organisation defines who is strong, selects, develops, pays and keeps them, and what happens inside a talent review meeting. Third, the language it all depends on: building a competency model from observable behaviour, critical incident interviews, rating scales, ready-made libraries, and connecting the model to hiring, reward and promotion. Fourth, eight lessons on developing managers specifically — what to teach them and how. Fifth and sixth, the two instruments through which development actually happens: mentoring, from matching a pair to ending the relationship properly, and coaching, from listening and powerful questions through to building a coaching culture.

A note on size

Forty-six lessons is a lot, and the reason is that a pipeline is genuinely five systems that have to connect. Most attempts fail at a seam — a competency model nobody assesses against, a development plan nobody delivers, a mentoring programme with no ending. If you only need one part, the blocks stand alone; if the pipeline is your responsibility, the seams are the point.

Who is teaching this

I am Mike Pritula. I built the people system at Preply as it became a unicorn, including its leadership pipeline through fast growth, and I have worked at Wargaming, iDeals and Alfa-Bank. More than 1.6 million students have enrolled in my courses across 185 countries, and over 150,000 specialists have gone through my programmes. I hold PHRi and SHRM-CP certifications and represent HRCI in more than ten countries.

What is included

• Lifetime access to all 46 lessons

• Active instructor support in the Q&A section

• A Udemy Certificate of Completion

• Working material: the impact and risk matrix, the 9-box grid, bench strength metrics, competency profiles and rating scales, the critical incident method, the mentoring cycle, the GROW model

• Research from Gallup and Google on what managers actually need

Where to start

Write down your three most critical roles and the name of whoever would take each one tomorrow. Then check whether that person knows. The gap between those two lines is what this course is built to close. Enrol now and start today.