Succession planning is one of those leadership responsibilities that most organizations agree is important, and yet many struggle with knowing how to begin. Is it the board’s responsibility? The CEOs responsibility? The senior leadership team’s responsibility? The answer is yes to all. Each has a role to play, and the principles are remarkably similar: anticipate future needs, develop people, prepare for transitions, and sustain the organization’s mission.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle is that succession planning feels too big and complicated. We imagine elaborate plans, organization charts, timelines, and difficult conversations. So we postpone the work, sometimes until a resignation or retirement announcement makes it urgent. But what if we approached succession planning not as a project to complete, but as an ongoing commitment to organizational sustainability?
A manageable approach begins with four practices:
Anticipate. Look beyond today’s staffing and leadership structure. What expertise, perspectives, and leadership capabilities will your organization need to fulfill its future strategy? Changing regulations, technology, workforce expectations, and community needs may require different skills than those that brought the organization to its current success. Boards and executives alike should ask whether their future leadership needs are reflected in their current plans.
Develop. Succession planning begins when we hire an employee or orient a new board member. How are we helping people grow, understand the mission, build relationships, and prepare for greater responsibility? Development is not a promise of promotion. It is an investment in people and in the organization’s future capacity. It also means recognizing that future leaders may bring strengths and perspectives different from those of current leaders.
Prepare. Consider both expected and unexpected transitions. Who holds critical knowledge and relationships? What would happen if a key leader were suddenly unavailable? Are there people who could provide interim leadership, and do they have the support and information they would need? Preparation does not require predicting every departure. It requires reducing avoidable disruption.
Sustain. Leadership transitions are about more than filling positions. They involve preserving trust, institutional knowledge, organizational culture, and commitment to mission. For organizations rooted in Anabaptist and Quaker traditions, leadership can be understood as stewardship: we are entrusted with responsibility for a time, and part of that responsibility is preparing others to carry the work forward. That means developing leaders who can uphold the organization’s values as well as perform its essential functions.
These four practices need not be launched as a massive initiative. They can become part of board orientation, employee development conversations, annual strategic planning, and regular leadership discussions. The board’s role in CEO succession is distinct and essential, but it should exist within a broader culture of preparing people and the organization for change.
The deeper question is not whether we have a succession plan on file. It is whether we are committed to the work that makes successful transitions possible.
Succession planning begins long before a position becomes vacant. It begins when we welcome someone into the organization, invest in their growth, share knowledge, and make room for others to lead. The commitment is simple, even when the work is not. We must prepare today for the people and leadership our mission will need tomorrow.
By Karen Lehman, President & CEO
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