Why Succession Planning Deserves Your Attention

Author: Sonya Cowen

Leadership succession is the strategic process of identifying, developing, and preparing future leaders to ensure smooth transitions in key roles. The ultimate goal is to maintain continuity, preserve institutional knowledge, and support long-term growth by building a pipeline of capable and ready talent; to transition into key leadership roles when needed.

Context matters: your context matters most.

A cornerstone of effective succession planning is a deep understanding of what leadership needs to look like in your specific organisational and strategic context. This ensures succession efforts and investments focus on the right people, roles, and capabilities required for future success. Generic approaches may bring about some short term impact but a focused, context-centered succession strategy will deliver long-term success.

Set clear objectives; start with the end in mind.

Effective leadership succession planning aims to:

• Ensure seamless leadership transitions during expected and unexpected departures

• Retain institutional knowledge and sustain organisational culture
• Align talent development with long-term vision and strategic goals
• Minimise disruption and risk associated with leadership gaps
• Support sustained growth and competitive advantage
• Prepare the next generation of leaders with necessary skills and experience

By implementing a robust succession plan, organisations can proactively address future leadership needs, foster development, and create a resilient leadership structure that can adapt to change.

Draw lessons from the experts

Our approach to succession planning is shaped by insights from three respected experts:

• Noel Tichy, in his book Succession, emphasises the development of internal talent and the role of leaders as teachers. He advocates a "virtuous teaching cycle" that fosters continuous learning and growth. He emphasises exposing leaders to diverse experiences and challenges; to build the skill of confident decision-making amidst uncertainty. Tichy highlights the critical role of CEOs and Boards collaborating on succession planning; framing it firmly as an ongoing, strategic process rather than a one-time event.
• David Peterson advocates exposing leaders to diverse, novel and adverse experiences. This builds agility and resilience, enabling confident decision-making in complex environments. He describes this range of experiences as crucial to equipping high-potential leaders to effectively navigate disruption, complexity and transformational change.
• Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic focuses on identifying leadership potential through key behaviours: being rewarding to work with, demonstrating a learning mindset, and showing a strong work ethic. He advocates prioritising competence over confidence, humility over charisma, and emotional intelligence and integrity, over bravado and hubris.

Principles advocated by these experts underpin Winsborough’s approach to succession planning, and building a robust and future-ready leadership pipeline.

A framework for identifying high-potential talent.

Aligned with expert insights, our approach focuses on three key attributes.

Those who demonstrate Aspiration, Agility and Ability fall into the talent "sweet spot" and should be given opportunities to take on critical, complex roles, to accelerate their development and progression.

Measuring effectiveness - tangible metrics matter

To gain buy-in and ensure success, it’s crucial to track succession planning outcomes. Tangible metrics allow organisations to identify gaps and make informed improvements. Choosing and embedding these metrics in consultation with Executives and Boards, also ensures high level buy-in and advocacy of succession planning.

Key metrics include:

• Number of high potentials (HiPos) identified for each critical role
• Percentage of critical roles filled internally
• High-potential turnover rate
• Leadership bench strength
• Pipeline utilisation
• Percentage of internal candidates interviewed for critical roles
• Successive promotions of identified talent

While lead measures matter, avoid focusing on process metrics (e.g., number of programs). The simplicity of measurement tends to drive this focus. Prioritise and do the work to measure outcome-based indicators, that reflect leadership readiness and business impact.

Has succession planning gained your attention? 

Regardless of the economic, social or political context, we believe that leading talent effectively is essential to organisational success. By systematically and consistently identifying, building, and retaining diverse talent, Boards and Executive Teams can make informed decisions, execute strategy effectively, and mitigate leadership risk.

What Does Future-Ready Leadership Look Like in Your Organisation?

Take time to reflect on how well your current approach to succession aligns with your strategic goals. What leadership capabilities will your organisation need next—and are you building them today? Get in touch if you have questions or want do discuss partnering with us to design a practical, context-driven succession strategy that builds leadership capability from within.

Need more information? Contact the Winsborough Team:
winsborough.co.nz | 0800 222 061 | support@winsborough.co.nz

Image credit: MediaEcke (Unsplash)