Your Guide to a Comprehensive Succession Planning Strategy
No one in the C-suite has announced a retirement plan, and time and money are limited . . . so succession planning can wait, right?
The answer is no. The assumption that succession planning is optional could cost your organization millions in lost revenue—not to mention reputation, employee morale, and perhaps even viability. When organizations operate under the illusion that a succession strategy is a "nice-to-have" for the future, as opposed to a fundamental business process, they are vulnerable to the unexpected.
Only 7.2% of external CEO hires have a 60% chance of outperforming internal candidates.1
If a leadership gap emerges, organizations that lack succession strategies are often pressed to hire externally. But research shows only 7.2 percent of external CEO hires have a 60 percent chance of outperforming internal candidates.1 This statistic isn't an indictment of executive search. It's evidence of how valuable organizational knowledge, relationships, and cultural alignment can be when paired with science-driven strategies for high-potential identification, leadership development, and other vital talent processes. The most successful organizations know a strong leadership pipeline is foundational, and executive search is best used for strategic additions, not emergency replacements.
When organizations operate under the illusion that a succession strategy is a 'nice-to-have' for the future, as opposed to a fundamental business process, they are vulnerable to the unexpected.
If your organization's succession bench (or lack thereof) keeps you awake at night, you're not alone. In fact, 86 percent of leaders don't think they're doing well at succession planning, and 88 percent of organizations don't feel confident in their bench strength.2,3 Your nagging worry that your organization isn't future-ready is probably justified. But it's also solvable.
This guide will show you how to root your succession strategy in science to reduce risk and build internal leadership capability at scale.
Here’s a quick overview: