????上周，微軟（Microsoft）任命薩提亞?納德拉為首席執行官。這讓我想起了不久前在西雅圖對一批高管說過的一番話，內容是企業應當如何從內部選拔負責人，而不是在外部搜尋。

????當時，繼任是個重大話題——微軟董事長比爾?蓋茨和即將離職的CEO史蒂夫?鮑爾默正忙著從日常事務中脫身。聽眾中間有位女士舉手發言，她說許多員工都很關心誰將成為新一任CEO，以及這個人可能給他們的公司文化帶來怎樣的改變。她還說，員工們都希望這個人能讓微軟實現文化轉型，以便和競爭對手，比如谷歌（Google）、蘋果公司（Apple）以及移動領域的企業，爭奪人才。原因是，微軟對收購諾基亞（Nokia）的資本化已經開始。

????我講這番話的時間是2013年11月14日。當時微軟員工還不知道情況如何，因為負責遴選新CEO的董事約翰?湯普森一直保持著沉默。那時，湯普森透露的信息只是他在博客里列出的約100名候選人。當時，這樣的一團迷霧讓我接觸到的員工受到了不利影響。他們當中，大多數人都承認自己感到焦慮，而且都在靜觀事態發展的同時準備好了自己的簡歷。

????我對他們說，如今太多的公司董事會都犯了和微軟一樣的錯誤，那就是他們認為繼任就是尋找候選人。但實際上，考慮繼任問題需要從公司的角度出發，而不僅僅是著眼于具體的某一個人。

????簡單地聘請一家研究咨詢公司來尋找和發現他們認為合適的人選，或者由董事會挑選幾名候選人已經不夠了。首先要借助公司的集體智慧和社區股東來找到公司今后發展的最佳思路，同時確定能帶領公司前進的人要有哪些特質。搜尋仍很重要，但要把它放在公司確定了策略指標和未來的方向之后。

????我在新書《管理階層的崩塌：聯絡、合作、影響和領導的新途徑》（Fall of the Alphas: The New Beta Way to Connect, Collaborate, Influence -- and Lead）談到了這些話題。和董事會掌控一切的傳統方式不同，這種新途徑牽涉到一批職位高、有影響力的員工和社區成員，我把他們稱為“部落議會”。這個機構幫助董事會選擇適合公司目標和文化傳統的領導者。它不僅可以幫助董事會弄清楚需要做哪些工作，還能發揮領導作用，幫助新的領導者融入公司文化，同時確保這項任務的圓滿成功。

????微軟本可以用另一種方法來任命新CEO，包括幾點：首先，挑選候選人的工作不應只由董事會承擔。只有傳統方式才會這樣做；此外，微軟董事會等待的時間過長，他們本該在CEO職位空出來之前早早地和內外部候選人進行更好的溝通。長期等待造成他們不得不在全世界目光的注視之下開始尋找新任CEO。

????Last week's hire of Microsoft's new CEO, Satya Nadella, reminded me of a talk I recently gave to a group of senior executives in Seattle about how companies should do more to groom leaders from within, as opposed to looking outside for their next star.

????At the time, succession was a big topic; Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer were actively planning exits from their everyday roles. In the audience, a woman raised her hand and said that many employees were concerned about who will be brought in and what kind of cultural changes they could expect. Employees, she added, wanted someone capable of transforming the culture of the company so it could compete for talent against competitors, such as Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL), as well as others in the mobile world as it begins to capitalize on its acquisition of Nokia.

????Back in Nov. 14, 2013 when I gave my talk, Microsoft's (MSFT) employees weren't sure what was going on since they had heard little from John W. Thompson, the board member heading up the search. The most information he had shared to date was a list of some 100 candidates that he included in a blog post. All that mystery was having a negative impact on the current employees I spoke with, most of whom admitted to feeling anxious and of spending time dusting off their résumé as they waited to see what would happen.

????As I explained to the audience, the mistake so many boards make these days, as in the case of Microsoft, is that they think succession is all about identifying candidates. But it's really about organizational thinking, not just about one person.

????It's no longer enough to simply hire a search consultant who goes and finds candidates they think will fit or a board of directors coming up with a short list. It's about first tapping the collective wisdom of the organization, the shareholders of the community, to mine for the best ideas for the future evolution of the company and the characteristics of someone who could lead it forward. Search is still important but only after the organization has done its pre-thinking on the parameters of strategy and the future.

????These themes are covered in my new book, Fall of the Alphas: The New Beta Way to Connect, Collaborate, Influence -- and Lead. Unlike the Alpha way, where the board owns the entire process, the Beta approach involves a group of highly-placed, influential employees and community members -- what I call, a "tribal council." The council helps the board select the right leader who fits with the organization's goals and cultural traditions. It would not only help the board gain clarity on what needs to be done, but it would also take a leadership role in helping integrate and guarantee the success of the new executive into the company culture.

????In many ways, Microsoft could have selected its new CEO differently: First, it should not have just been the sole job of the board of directors to identify candidates. That's such an Alpha way to go about it. They also waited too long; the board should have better communicated with internal and external candidates long before the CEO job was open. That forced them to conduct a search under duress with the world watching.