Who wants to talk about resigning, retiring, or sudden illnesses?

No one!

So, yep, succession planning can feel hard.

Which is why we AVOID this difficult conversation.

Too often, the easiest thing is to just ignore it all—hoping it’ll never happen.
 
But, there is a 100% chance that, at some point in the future, the leader will leave their role.
 
Hope, denial, or delay are not strategies.  

It’s in the best interests of everyone (the board, the organization, any internal candidates, and the Leader themselves) to have normalized the conversation and have a well-thought-through succession plan in place.

5 Tips for Better Leadership Transitions

Here are 5 things you can do to address leadership succession planning:
 
1. Understand the Importance of Succession Planning: openly discuss how and why succession planning will ensure continuity and sustainability in your unique circumstances.
 
2. Identify Key Succession Stakeholders: engage key stakeholders who need to be involved in your succession process, including board members, investors, staff, funders, community partners, suppliers, etc.
 
3. Develop Interim Transition Plans: get effective interim transition plans in place that address the urgency often associated with sudden leadership changes. Think about delegation of responsibilities, temporary leadership structures and appointing and preparing an interim or acting leader, and crisis management strategies to mitigate disruptions during interim periods.
 
4. Craft Comprehensive Succession Plans: plans need to encompass short-term interim measures and long-term strategies for identifying, and investing in, future leaders.
 
5. Build the Leadership Pipeline: cultivate leadership talent within your organization. Identify and support emerging leaders, use an EDI lens, build a culture of continuous learning and leadership development.
 
Need help having this hard conversation, and building your plan? It’s a specialty of mine. Let’s talk.