Succession Planning Doesn’t Make You Obsolete

The first step in successful succession planning is acknowledging the elephant in the room.

Succession planning doesn’t make you obsolete or send a message that you’re planning to move on. Rather, it’s central to your success. Leaving it to chance can have real repercussions for your career, including limiting your ability to move up.

Without purposeful, systematic processes in place to ensure leadership continuity, your organization faces significant business impact. It’s something I’m seeing more of today as companies face increased turnover driven by 10,000 boomers turning 65 every day, millennials who change jobs 3 times more often than their counterparts, and the growing appeal of the gig economy.

As managers, we aren’t always doing a good job of preparing our successors. Too often succession planning only comes up on an annual basis, and pressing business demands mean we tick the box and move on, with the intention of coming back to it when we have more time. As a result, potential leaders are identified but not proactively or consistently developed.

Start with a new definition

Success starts with broadening how we think about succession planning. Too often, we see succession as being just about C-level roles. With today’s flatter, dynamic org structures, leadership accountability is pushed out into the organization, which makes it essential to include all critical path roles that would be adversely impacted by an unexpected departure.   By thinking beyond succession planning to ongoing succession management, you’re able to make it an integral element in the company’s overall talent strategies.

In my years as a business leader, I’ve seen the powerful impact of purposeful, well-integrated succession management. It pays off in improved leadership continuity, leadership diversity, and employee growth and retention. Now, I’m focused on helping both companies and individuals re-energize their succession efforts and deepen their leadership benches. Contact me to talk about how your company can move from practicing succession planning to succession management.