Effective succession planning includes evaluations of individuals against the specific demands and context of critical roles. To make these evaluations objective, organizations should collect data about trends in performance over time. When processes aren't informed by data, the politics, groupthink, and biases that tend to arise during talent review processes can favor individuals who are charismatic, confident, and highly visible but not necessarily effective.

Many organizations lack a clear definition of "potential." They conflate it with current performance and don't focus on the qualities, experiences, and competencies that actually impact future potential for bigger roles. This can create false rankings, limiting the odds of success for both the successor and the organization. Individuals with true leadership potential may be overlooked due to situational underperformance, lack of visibility, or absence of development opportunities. Worse, high performers might not have the right competencies or qualities to succeed at higher levels. This may explain why nearly half of executive transitions fail within two years.5

To avoid overlooking the nuances of personality, decision-making style, context, and development opportunities, organizations should use valid, reliable assessment tools to measure potential alongside distinct performance metrics.