Too often, CEO or executive director succession planning starts when a departure is imminent. While some transitions unfold smoothly, many reveal gaps that should have been addressed months or years earlier.
The board chair is ultimately responsible for creating a formal succession plan and leading the executive search process. But as CEO or executive director, you can reduce the risk of losing momentum on important initiatives during a transition by preparing your leadership team and ensuring the most important work is not dependent on one person.
Our approach begins by identifying the results a successor must achieve, then works backward to build the leadership capacity needed to deliver those results.
Succession planning done right means:
- The board isn’t left searching for a “magical” replacement who can replicate years of experience overnight.
- You’ve built a strong leadership bench that can handle critical areas during the transition.
- Your successor inherits a stable organization and can begin moving forward immediately.
When To Start
Ideally, begin succession planning as soon as you step into a new CEO role—but if not then, start now. The earlier you build the right competencies in your leadership team, the less risk your organization faces. Frame it as “safeguarding and strengthening the organization” rather than “finding a replacement.” Building this into your role as early as possible normalizes the topic with your board and team, reducing anxiety that can arise from discussions about leadership changes.
Step 1: Identify Impact Areas and Results
Ask yourself: What are the highest-impact areas of my role? If I left tomorrow, what results would my successor need to deliver over the next 3-5 years? Consider your strategic plan, current organizational challenges and initiatives, and anticipated external risks and opportunities. Make this a regular topic in board discussions and annual reviews.
Step 2: Define Key Competencies
For each impact area, outline:
- The skills, knowledge, and experience required to deliver results
- Internal and external relationships that must be developed, maintained, or repaired
- Leadership behaviors and working styles that are necessary to make progress within your organization’s culture
- Any additional internal or external context that could help avoid missteps
This serves as your blueprint for developing your executive team. Having the key competencies mapped out and tied to impact areas will also help your board make more informed decisions when the time comes for a formal CEO executive search.
Step 3: Assess Leadership Team Readiness
Think of this building capacity for the entire leadership team, not identifying a single successor. If someone emerges as a possible candidate, you can have more direct conversations later.
Talk individually with senior team members about their career goals, past performance, and interest in expanded responsibilities. Be transparent about the skills and impact areas that matter most. Assess:
- Who has existing strengths you can build on?
- Where are the gaps that could pose risks to organizational stability during a transition?
Involve your board chair so there’s a shared, realistic understanding of your team’s capabilities. If too many impact areas are handled solely by you, the board will face a riskier, and potentially more costly, search to replace you.
Step 4: Create Development Opportunities
Once you’ve identified competency gaps within your leadership team and the individuals best positioned to step up, help team members get hands-on exposure in the highest-impact areas through stretch assignments. A few examples include:
- Shadowing key processes like budgeting or strategic planning
- Presenting to the board in relevant areas of expertise
- Participating actively in funder or high-level stakeholder meetings
- Leading organization-wide strategic initiatives with your guidance available as needed
This intentional development prepares your team to manage an eventual transition while boosting your organization’s ability to drive impact now. Encourage executive team members to use a similar approach with their direct reports to build a reliable leadership pipeline at every level.
Step 5: Document Institutional Knowledge
Even with a well-developed leadership team, a successful transition depends on effective knowledge transfer. What information exists only in your head that could create problems if not documented? What details do you wish you had when you stepped into the role?
Document and update at least annually:
- Board governance: dynamics, committee structures, decision-making norms, preferred communication methods, and upcoming priorities
- Stakeholder relationships: key funders, partners, or affiliates; their history with the organization; expectations; and potential areas of risk or opportunity
- Finances: current health and key metrics, annual budgeting process, investment strategies, debt obligations, and major contracts or capital projects
- Culture and staff: core values, performance management processes, high-potential employees, and any ongoing personnel issues
- Conflict patterns: common sources of disagreements among staff, the board, or external stakeholders, and how they are usually resolved
- Systems and access: technology platforms, administrator rights, compliance requirements, bank accounts, contracts, and secure storage of passwords and legal documents
By ensuring your leadership team is skilled in the right areas, you protect the progress made during your tenure and ensure your exit doesn’t expose hidden weaknesses. Documenting the knowledge you’ve gained through years of service to the organization supports greater continuity during the transition.
You are giving your successor, and your board, a solid foundation for a new chapter of growth.
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