Succession Plan for 2025: It's Not Just for Emergencies - It's a Leadership Development Strategy

Fortune 500 companies and small family businesses alike share a business need - ensuring that they have the talent necessary to effectively lead their organizations in the future. One of the most significant contributions a leader can make is ensuring his/her business’ continuity and sustainability - by having employees who are willing and capable of filling each key position with a plan for doing so when the need arises.

Succession Planning is a:

• the deliberate, systematic process of anticipating the need for talent and ensuring that the necessary employee competencies and experience are available when needed in the future
• a strategic approach for avoiding an undersupply of talent, enhancing the organization’s current talent pool, and meeting its future needs

Not having a Succession Plan can be costly and sometimes disastrous; it’s expensive to recruit, interview, select, onboard, and train a new leader and significant opportunity costs are incurred when a key job is not being performed.

• the talent needed in the future
• the talent it has now
• where there are talent gaps
• the initiatives necessary to close those gaps

• what the organization would do if it had to fill the position tomorrow
• whether there is, at least, one successor who could immediately perform the duties of the position
• if there is no successor ready now, what will need to be done to enable the best internal candidate to be ready, and when can he/she be ready
• can the organization afford to wait or would it be better to recruit a successor, etc

• evaluate its employees’ current performance - based on documented, objective 
• performance and achievements 
• assess its employees’ advancement potential 
• determine its employees’ current readiness for advancement 
• obtain from its employees self-appraisals identifying their developmental needs and 
• preferred career plans
• meet its bench strength needs by initiating Individual Development Plans and 
• experiences - at least, for its A Players and/or High Potentials - such as:

• asks each leader to report on the status of the Individual Development Plans for each of their A Players and High Potentials
• ensure that each A Player and High Potential is receiving regular coaching and is actively involved in opportunities that will help retain them while accelerating their development
• drives the organization past 'business as usual' by ensuring that its future needs for human capital are identified and will be satisfied when the time arrives - as it will

• A deliberate, systematic process of anticipating the need for talent and ensuring that the necessary employee competencies and experience are available when needed
• A strategic approach for avoiding an undersupply of talent, enhancing the organization’s current talent pool, and meeting the organization’s future needs

• Sustain the business through a systematic effort to ensure leadership continuity in key positions
• Attract, retain & develop high potentials [HiPos]
• Encourage HiPos development by:
   • Identifying career paths
   • Conducting performance appraisals
   • Providing daily coaching
   • Creating Individualized Development Plans [IDPs]
   • Holding Talent Review meetings

• Self-appraisals and career goals
• Performance appraisals, 360 feedback, and ratings
• Assessment instruments
• GE grid
• Individual development plans [IDPs]
• HiPo talent development interventions
• Talent review meetings 

• Supply funding/budget
• Establish a clear vision and guidance for the program
• Develop a formal, written program
• Announce the objectives of the program to all employees
• Ensure that all leaders and managers support the program 

• Have job descriptions developed for their teams
• Conduct effective, formal performance appraisals
• Identify employee developmental areas
• share their knowledge and experience
• Involve employees in more of the leader's responsibilities
• Facilitate the completion of IDPs for all Hi Pos

• Conduct self-appraisals
• Identify their desired career paths
• Learn as much as they can about potential future assignments
• Perform to their capabilities
• Complete their IDPs
• Develop the employees reporting to them - so they have successors

• Whether there is, at least, one successor for each key position
• Having developmental goals and IDPs established for each successor
• Determining how much of their manager’s job the successors can perform
• Determining whether successors can perform their manager’s jobs when they are unavailable and evaluating their performance during those times

Succession Planning ensures leadership continuity and future talent readiness by proactively identifying, developing, and retaining high-potential employees. It involves career pathing, performance appraisals, coaching, and Individualized Development Plans (IDPs) while addressing current and future talent gaps. Key processes include Performance Management to assess readiness and potential and Talent Review Meetings to monitor progress and ensure development. These initiatives boost engagement and prepare organizations to meet their human capital needs effectively.