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Succession Planning: What the Research Says

• Eben Harrell

While every organization inevitably must replace its CEO, most firms are ill-prepared for succession. In this article, HBR senior editor Eben Harrell reviews the most salient studies of succession planning and offers context from the experts. Some key takeaways:

• Though turnover among CEOs is rising, only 54% of boards are grooming a specific successor, and 39% have no viable internal candidate. The consequences of poor planning are serious: Companies that scramble to find replacements forgo an average of $1.8 billion in shareholder value.
• Grooming leaders takes years but pays off: Chief executives who have gone through executive development at “CEO factories” like GE deliver superior operating performance. But directors need to get more involved. The majority don’t understand the capabilities of the executives below the CEO, and only about a quarter participate in their evaluations.
• The trend toward external hires is growing, and outsiders command higher median pay. But studies suggest that on the whole, insider CEOs deliver better returns.
• More researchers are studying the traits of the ideal CEO. So far they’re finding that younger CEOs outperform, that execution matters more than interpersonal strengths, and that a military background makes leaders more honest, but this line of inquiry is in its early days, and the jury is still out.

Most organizations aren’t prepared.

All CEOs will inevitably leave office, yet research has long shown that most organizations are ill-prepared to replace them. In this article, we review the most salient studies of succession planning and offer context from experts on the process of picking new leaders for organizations.

• Eben Harrell is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review. EbenHarrell

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Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Barriers to succession planning: a case study of atlanta nonprofit organizations.

Adonnis J. Jules , Abilene Christian University Follow

Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

Document type.

Dissertation

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Stuart Allen

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Jennifer Williams

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Gregory McKee

Succession planning is not a common practice among nonprofit organizations, despite support for its effectiveness in supporting leadership development and providing organizational stability during a planned or unplanned transition. Nonprofits have acknowledged that their leadership ranks are thin, and a leadership transition tends to bring challenges to the organizations when vacancies need to be filled. Barriers exist that prevent nonprofits from engaging in succession planning, but little research has examined the nature of these barriers. This study focused on nonprofit organizations across four different industry sectors to determine the extent of their succession planning efforts and the barriers that exist that hinder the implementation of succession planning. I used a qualitative, multiple-case study approach and conducted 20 semistructured interviews comprised of a sample of organizational leaders with knowledge of their organizations’ succession planning activities. The study produced five themes discussing 1) the extent of succession planning activities in nonprofit organizations (NPOs); 2) succession planning in the hierarchy of organizational focus and priorities; 3) how succession planning relates to organizational survival; 4) how NPOs maintain organizational stability; and 5) if succession planning is an essential or good practice for NPOs. The implications of the study show that the practice of succession planning, while a viable option for long-term stability, does not fit all organizational models or needs and NPOs have alternative methods to meet their needs when leadership positions become vacant.

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Jules, Adonnis J., "Barriers to Succession Planning: A Case Study of Atlanta Nonprofit Organizations" (2021). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 362. https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/362

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Boykins, Regenia R. "Nonprofit Leaders' Strategies for Succession Planning." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6525.

Dillard, Robin Ford. "Healthcare Executive Leadership Development and Succession Planning." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4212.

Martin, Christina. "Succession Planning and Development of Nurse Leaders." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5900.

Zuleger, Stephanie. "Identifying impediments of succession planning in credit unions." Thesis, Pepperdine University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10248028.

Credit unions, the cooperatives started by the people to serve the people, have experienced tremendous growth, success, and challenge since their inception in the mid-19 th century. While the overall number of members and assets are growing, the physical number of credit unions is decreasing due to mergers or insolvency, keeping market share stagnant for the past 20 years. As with all organizations, succession planning is essential to ensure a future. Considering a conceptual foundation including stakeholder theory and succession planning, the purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how succession planning is utilized by CEOs of credit unions today, what impedes credit unions from succession planning and leadership development, as well as what tools or resources are needed within the industry to either build or enhance the succession planning efforts.

Based on in-depth interviews with eight current CEO’s, findings revealed that succession planning is happening more frequently in large credit unions than previous research noted. CEOs are committed to their stakeholders and to the industry and are driving this process in their credit unions, they believe developing leaders is their main role, and they see succession planning as a competitive advantage because of the results it generates. To make the process successful, the CEOs are utilizing consultants, incorporating a variety of activities, focusing on innovation and technology, and challenging the talent management status quo. The CEOs did not believe suggested impediments from previous research were accurate. Rather, they believed that intrinsic factors got in the way including excuses, basic human nature and egos. To truly revolutionize the industry and gain market share, the CEOs shared that many strategies including hiring practices must change.

It is recommended that credit union leaders and directors become knowledgeable on succession planning and its benefits, connect strategic planning with talent management, and remove intrinsic obstacles to most effectively give back to their stakeholders. Additional research on smaller credit unions and their succession planning efforts, recruiting and hiring tactics for credit union CEOs, and the prioritization of succession planning, strategic planning, and financial results is needed.

Fox, Roderick Charles. "Successful implementation of succession planning: second generation." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012445.

Toliver, Yetta. "Succession Planning for Next Generation Business Leaders." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3730.

Javed, Basit, and Muhammad Jaffar. "Impact of Succession Planning on Employee Retention." Thesis, Högskolan i Jönköping, Internationella Handelshögskolan, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-43902.

Ejakpomewhe, Robinson. "Influence of Succession Planning on Knowledge Transfer." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4215.

Parks, Talecia Y. "Strategies to Implement Succession Planning in a Nonprofit." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5515.

McCarthy, Kristina L. "Cross-Project Knowledge Transfer Succession Planning for Family-Owned Businesses." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5223.

McIntyre, Kelli A. "An Evaluation of Retired YMCA Leaders' Styles and Succession Planning Programs." Thesis, Capella University, 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13809105.

The baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are leaving considerable openings in leadership positions, as they age out of the workforce and into retirement. The nonprofit field faces a significant loss of leader knowledge if exiting leaders do not intentionally train new upcoming leaders to fill these roles successfully. Data for this quantitative study were from nonprofit retirees with the intent to look for relationships between the retirees’ perception of successive leader effectiveness and (a) duration of formal succession planning, (b) levels of leadership styles (directive, participative, achievement-oriented, supportive), and (c) demographics (gender, age, last position held before retirement.) Combined, two surveys (the Path-Goal Leadership Questionnaire and the Survey about Succession Planning and Succession Management Questionnaire) became one survey, and the Association of YMCA Retirees e-mailed it to 950 members of the AYR database. One hundred fifty retired men and women responded to the survey. Nonparametric correlations, independent samples t tests, and a one-way ANOVA were used to look for relationships or differences between the variables. The findings indicated that the longer the duration of succession planning, the higher the rating of successive leader effectiveness. Although directive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership styles did not significantly correlate to successive leader effectiveness, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between supportive leadership style and successive leader effectiveness. Findings showed that neither gender nor age related to significant differences in perception of successive leader effectiveness. Respondents who reported being a president/CEO before retirement rated their successive leaders significantly higher than did those who reported being an executive director before retirement. Results emphasize a need for current leaders in training and developing quality future leaders purposefully. Future studies should focus on other groups of participants, other nonprofit organizations or for-profit businesses where leaders are retiring in large numbers or on specific locations or organizations to develop case studies.

Barr, Michael. "Strategizing Effective Succession Planning for Information Technology Executives." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7116.

Tarmann, Jr Mark. "Small to Medium Enterprise Succession Planning: Millennial Employee Development." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4405.

Wilson, Steven L. "Antecedents to business succession planning in small relationship-dependent service businesses." Thesis, Oklahoma State University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10142120.

As the baby boom generation approaches and enters traditional retirement ages, the owners of small professional service firms are being inundated with advice concerning how to implement a business succession plan. While much of the advice may be valuable and sound, a significant portion of this advice appears to be derived from a one-size-fits-all approach that ignores, or fails to address, the needs, desires, and personal characteristics of the business owner. Small business succession planning advice often involves growing the business into a self-perpetuating organism. However, many small business owners may not want to do what is necessary to manage a business for optimum succession planning. The researcher used a quantitative research methodology to identify antecedents to business succession planning in small, relationship-dependent service businesses. The research combines concepts from the Theory of Planned Behavior and from the family business succession planning literature to identify potential owner characteristic and situational antecedents to business succession planning. The study focused on a sample population of owners of small financial-services businesses affiliated with one broker-dealer. Most of the sample population offers tax and accounting services in addition to their financial services. The population is in the business of planning for their customers but to a large extent neglect or choose not to plan for their own ultimate exit from the business. While business owners face many choices and obstacles in preparing their firms for their eventual exit, this study indicates that the decision to pursue business succession planning by the owners of small, relationship-dependent service businesses is overwhelmingly driven by the business owners’ perception of the availability of a qualified successor. Thus the decision to pursue business succession planning by this sample population is more likely to be a reaction to circumstances than a proactive choice driving the owners’ business decisions.

Van, der Linde Diederick Johannes. "The development of a succession planning framework as an integral part of people management review and strategic planning." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/51960.

Richardson, Natalie Davis. "Predictors of nonprofit executive succession planning| A secondary data analysis." Thesis, Capella University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3617377.

In this quantitative secondary data analyses chi-square tests of independence and binary logistic regression were conducted to test the hypotheses that the independent variables are associated or predict executive succession planning. The following characteristics of the executive director was analyzed: age, gender, race/ethnicity, service insider selection (i.e., history of employment or board membership within the organization), executive director membership on the board of directors, a transparent relationship with the board of directors, use of professional development resources, level of education, and years of service in the nonprofit sector. Results indicated that there is an association between executive succession planning and four of the predictor variables age, race/ethnicity, years of service in the nonprofit sector, and membership on the board of directors, and that only three of the variables age, years of service in the nonprofit sector, and membership of the board were successful in predicting whether or not the executive director will have a succession plan. Results will be used to provide the leadership and stakeholders of nonprofit organizations with data regarding the association and prediction of executive succession planning. This data will be useful as nonprofit organizations strategically plan for the executive succession planning process and identifying successors for executive leadership positions.

Cembrowski, Barbara Joan. "Succession planning for management staff at a western Canadian postsecondary technical institute." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/mq22707.pdf.

Shadow, Cyndie. "An Exploration of Knowledge Transfer and Career College Executive Succession Planning." Thesis, Walden University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10975343.

The career college sector of the post secondary education industry contributes more than $20 billion to the U.S. economy annually, but turnover in executive leader roles at career colleges is extremely high. Usually, such turnover occurs without succession planning or knowledge transfer for the new executive. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore the need for knowledge transfer when executive turnover occurs in career colleges. This single case study was framed on theories of knowledge addressing concepts such as knowledge stickiness, transfers, and gaps. The overarching research question concerned how lack of knowledge transfer during executive leadership succession at a career college influences stakeholder engagement, where stakeholders are executives, administrators, and faculty. The conceptual framework for this study was Szulanski’s sticky knowledge concept, which pertains to how knowledge transfer from one executive leader to the next may be blocked. Knowledge attrition can be the basis for declining performance and outcomes in an institution such as a career college. In this bounded, exploratory case study using semistructured interviews with stakeholders, the aim was to understand how to improve knowledge transfer in these colleges so that they may remain available for the students they serve, who usually represent the first generation in their families to obtain any postsecondary certification. This aim is socially significant because completion of career education can be a factor leading individuals into the middle class. Social change for a portion of the underserved population can certainly emanate from educational opportunities that lead to career placement, which is why understanding executive succession in career colleges has significance in American society.

Theus, Isaac C. "Strategies for Succession Planning and Leadership Training Development for Nonprofit Organizations." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6490.

Gilbert, Stephen Anthony. "Succession Planning Relating to the Millennial Generation in Private Four-Year Universities." Thesis, Pepperdine University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10278326.

Thurmond, Georgette Elaine. "Leadership Succession Planning and Management in Healthcare Organizations| A Qualitative Exploratory Multiple Case Study." Thesis, Northcentral University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10749972.

Healthcare industry faces major challenges in providing care to the aging American population. Strong leaders are needed to address the chaotic, changing healthcare environment. The specific problem is the increasing lack of leaders to address healthcare organization issues involving aging, baby boomer workforce retiring. High-stress jobs and retirements create a leader gap. Succession planning and management (SPM) become significant to healthcare organizations to ensure an appropriately developed pool of internal candidates is available to move individuals forward as leadership positions become available. Leadership development (LD) is critical to SPM processes. Individuals require specific training and mentoring to develop skill sets to meet healthcare industry challenges. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to obtain senior healthcare leaders’ perceptions on leadership practices and SPM processes; and explore if there was a link between LD practices and SPM in an integrated healthcare delivery system to query lived experiences for in-depth understanding. A sample of 11 interviews conducted with multi-levels of senior leaders from corporate to regional and local areas in Southern and Central California. Senior leaders guide SPM processes and implement LD practices. Three research questions guided interviews to seek senior leader perspectives on SPM processes and LD practice in healthcare organizations. NVivo, a computer-assisted data quality analysis software provided the ability to perform coding process following manual coding. Six themes identified involving the need for formal, structured SPM and leadership development to ensure the right person is in the right leader role. The selection process should begin at the employment interview for specific criteria. Measurable outcomes are needed on LD and SPM to ensure success and sustainability. The findings from the study are important in application to healthcare organizations to support an integrated, linked system of SPM and LD to ensure a pipeline to fill leader gaps successfully by identifying individuals from employment interview and through career movement. Future research is needed to enhance the study in various healthcare organization milieus. Qualitative research measuring outcomes would address effectiveness and sustainability of SPM and LD. Qualitative study with lower level leaders’ perceptions would corroborate importance of linking the concepts.

Mateso, Peter E. E. "Understanding Succession Planning and Management Efforts at Midwestern University: A Mixed Methods Study." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1276203234.

Tanzwani, Mashaka. "An investigation of management succession planning in black–owned family business in selected areas in South Africa / by M. Tanzwani." Thesis, North-West University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/4598.

Kraller, Judith. ""The Relevance of IT Supported Succession Planning in the Current Labor Market."." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2013. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-198205.

Gwiliza, Nwabisa. "Strategies for sustaining family business through succession planning and family creed." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/193.

Byers, Leigh. "Succession Planning Strategies of Faith-Based, Nonprofit Leaders of the Boomer Generation." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2251.

Le, Roes Fritz. "An analysis of the succession planning practices in a metropolitan municipality in South Africa." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2782.

Garchinsky, Christopher Richard Dugan Marion. "Planning for the continuity of a school's vision and culture before leadership succession events /." Philadelphia, Pa. : Drexel University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1860/2997.

Doyle, Donna J. "Succession Planning and the Identification of Future Perioperative Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study." Otterbein University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=otbn149209761975162.

Harutyunyan, Zaruhi. "Measuring effectiveness of organizational training and development activities." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2013. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-197049.

Carlson, Kimberly A. "The People behind the Curtain: A Proposed Succession Planning Model for University-Wide Research Institutes." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/39326.

Phillabaum, Lindsey A. "Managerial Development in Air Force Dining Facilities: Perceptions of 3M Enlisted Personnel on Preparing 3M Airmen for Leadership Positions." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1322241906.

Combie, Christopher C. "Presidential Views of Leadership in Seventh-day Adventist Higher Education." Scholar Commons, 2014. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5003.

Kools, Joseph M. J. "Leadership Competencies for College Leaders of Public Small, Rural, Single-Campus and Large, Urban, Multiple-Campus Colleges." Scholar Commons, 2010. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/1685.

Williams, Eric D. "Transformational Strategic Choice: The Generational Succession Effect on Small Businesses." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1332.

Meiring, Nico Francois. "Developing and implementing a succession planning process which contributes to business objectives as part of a re-engineering process : a case study." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/49674.

Lindenhall, Isabelle, and Sarah Hammoura. "Becoming a 'high potential' by developing high potential talents : How firms in Sweden employ succession planning and talent management to retain Millennials." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Företagsekonomi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-27075.

Anderson, Arthur. "STRENGTHS AND TALENTS OF POTENTIAL ADMINISTRATORS IN ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, FLORIDA." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2008. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/3525.

Govender, Rowan. "An examination of succession planning approaches in family owned businesses : a case study of two businesses in East London, South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1621.

Strandet, Karlsson Paulina, and Agnes Eklund. "Talent Management : En kvalitativ fallstudie om hur ett teknik- och konsultföretag arbetar med att behålla och utveckla sin personal." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och utbildningsstudier, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-220044.

Hrdinová, Šárka. "Talent management ve společnosti." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2013. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-193616.

Kebbe, Lisen. "Keep the conversation going : a study of conversational spaces during family business succession." Thesis, University of Bedfordshire, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10547/234472.

King, Jessica. "The succession of a contaminated floodplain: reclaiming the West Bottoms." Kansas State University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/15683.

Phikiso, Ziyanda, and Robertson K. Tengeh. "Key drivers and challenges of succession planning and implementation in family-owned businesses at a selected township in Cape Town, South Africa." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2591.

Van, Beek Willem Schalk Burger. "Knowledge management within the pyrometallurgical industry / Willem Schalk Burger van Beek." Thesis, North-West University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/4185.

Jefferson, Sharon E. "Nonprofit executive successor planning| A phenomenology of nonprofit executive leadership transition." Thesis, Capella University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3631655.

The nonprofit sector has historically faced a multitude of challenges that threaten sustainability. Such continues even today. Nonprofit organizations struggle to respond to changes imposed by external environmental influences. These changes revolve around accountability and resources. With all of this, the sector now faces yet another challenge of a significant executive leadership deficit. During the past ten years to the present, the sector has experienced a mass retirement of baby boomer executives. The nonprofit sector has warned of the leadership deficit. However, nonprofit organizations have failed to urgently respond to the developing leadership void. Nonprofit organizations tend to not address executive leadership needs of the organization until an occurrence of vacancy. While nonprofit organizations are encouraged to utilize successor planning, under utilizing is prevalent. This qualitative research explores nonprofit executive successor planning from a phenomenological approach. The research emphasizes perspectives of twelve nonprofit executives who experienced leadership transition during the years 2008–2012. The research approach is framed by theories of organizational management and human behavior. This research informs the issue of nonprofit successor planning utilization decisions in two areas. One area is the influence of incumbent executives in facilitating successor planning. A second area is consideration of ascribing resource value to the executive position. Such can encourage strategic assessment and planning for future leadership needs. Findings of the research indicate continued under utilization of successor planning characterized by the following: a reality of nonprofit executives facing operational distractions; governing boards avoiding the issue of leadership transition; and nonprofit organizations under utilizing strategic planning.

Musengi, Sandra. "Passing the spear : a grounded theory study of the influence of family business value sets on succession planning in black family-owned businesses." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007056.

Broberg, Madelene, and Anna Nordbrandt. "Chefsaspirantprogram som ett kompetensförsörjningsverktyg. : En fallstudie inom Skellefteå kommun." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Pedagogiska institutionen, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-100398.

Coleman, Pheobie Latossa. "Executive Management Methods to Prepare Employees for Future Positions." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3149.

Salmon, Sami Taisir. "Strategic Planning for Family Business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/4372.

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Succession Planning: Set Your Organization Up for Success

Having a successor lined up for critical roles is key to business success. With a well-planned succession program, HR leaders can help their organizations maintain continuity during leadership transitions.

“Succession planning is recognizing the talent we have today and where the organization needs to be in the future,” said Prudence Pitter, global head of HR for Amazon Web Services’ automotive, manufacturing, health care and life sciences division, speaking April 16 at the SHRM Talent Conference & Expo 2024 (Talent 2024). 

Pitter outlined how HR can create succession planning aligned with the organization, gain buy-in from the executive team and identify successors.

In a SHRM survey , only 21 percent of HR professionals said their organization had a formal succession plan in place, while 24 percent had an informal plan. More than half of those surveyed (56 percent) reported that their organization didn’t have a succession plan in place at all. The main reason why was a lack of time and resources to create one.

Obstacles to Succession Planning

Pitter said that some other common roadblocks to succession planning include a lack of executive buy-in, outgoing leaders being uncomfortable with planning for a successor, and not adequately preparing the next generation of leaders.

“Some business leaders are reluctant to leave the organization and want to control their legacy,” Pitter said. “They’re also concerned the transition will be immediate. Leaders may assume that the succession conversation is being held with an exit date already in mind, but succession plans are usually two years or more away.”

The leaders who are typically in the succession plan also tend to be the busiest, and their day-to-day priorities take precedence over succession, she said.

“HR must find a way to help them understand why it’s important,” Pitter said.

Leaders may also recognize that they’ve failed to develop viable successors. “This is where HR adds value in assessing bench strength,” Pitter said. “To identify a leader, you need to be able to identify and track them as a leader for a full business cycle, recognize any skills gaps and put a plan in place to make sure they are ready for that next role.”

It’s a process that can take years.

“It’s important to recognize any gaps in leadership on the bench,” she said. “On the other hand, if the outgoing leader is recommending someone as a successor and you know that person’s results are not great, you want to make sure that is visible to decision-makers.” 

Pitter said that the best succession plans include a clear assessment of the capabilities of the current leadership team and how they have been performing over the past two years. They also include publicly available data for leaders in other organizations in the same or similar industries.

Crafting a Plan

One way to gain succession planning buy-in from the executive team is to ensure your plan is developed specifically for and aligned with the organization, Pitter said.

Start with one leader and one role if resources and bandwidth are limited, she said.

“As you are creating a plan, focus on leadership development capabilities that are available to the organization, because once you get buy-in from leaders, you want to make sure you are delivering results,” Pitter said.

The performance management process is critical to assessing talent.

“If you don’t have a performance management process that uses metrics on how leaders are performing today and what the potential for performance is in the future, it’s going to be difficult to make the case to leaders who are not bought in to succession planning,” Pitter said. “Who are the leaders who have performed at or above expectations over a certain period of time? How does their performance line up with the growth of the organization?”

Sometimes, people’s strengths get lost within an organization. Pitter encouraged HR to make sure leaders have visibility to the next cohort. One way to do this is holding skip-level meetings. Pitter said that it will also sometimes be necessary to look externally to identify the right leader for a successor role.

She advised HR to prioritize key roles for succession planning, which may not always be those at the very top. “Some people will be focused on the CEO and the CFO, but for others, it might be a regional sales leader or the general manager of a branch. Figure out the key roles for your organization,” she said.

HR should seek out and share as much data as possible to secure buy-in for the plan. It’s important to measure the outputs that are available, Pitter said. “You’ve taken the time to identify successors and the most important roles that require a succession plan, so now you must measure the outputs, whether internal or external—the data available regarding mentorship, executive coaching, overall performance and leadership. It’s important to know when you may need to change course. If you just let a plan run on its own without measuring performance, you could find out at a later stage that the leader is not the right successor.”

Finally, for a succession plan to come to life, it is imperative that HR put a name and a face to successors to ensure that other leaders can visualize the plan and provide feedback on the current bench strength in the organization.

“Remember, succession planning is not a one-size-fits-all process,” Pitter said. “Reviewing external case studies and data on how other organizations have been able to seamlessly transition leadership capabilities is a good starting point. But resist the urge to copy and paste any other succession plan. Your plan will be hard to own and embrace if it’s not tailored to your organization’s specific needs.”

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