Continuity Matters More Than Coverage
Succession planning is often treated as a risk exercise. Who could step in if someone leaves. How quickly a role could be filled.
Those questions matter. They are not the full picture.
What I’ve learned is that succession planning is really about continuity. Specifically, whether leadership judgment carries forward when roles change, or whether the organization has to relearn how to lead every time there is a transition.
When continuity is weak, momentum slows and mistakes repeat. When it is strong, change feels like progression rather than disruption.
What Succession Planning Really Means
Succession planning is not about naming backups or filling out readiness charts.
It is about developing people who understand not only what a role requires, but how decisions are made within it. Context, tradeoffs, and judgment matter as much as skills.
In practice, this means giving potential successors exposure to real decisions, not just development plans. It means sharing how leaders think, not just what they do. Without that, transitions replace roles but not capability.
Why This Is a System Issue
Succession planning is often approached as a forecasting problem. Assess readiness. Identify gaps. Build pipelines.
Those activities help, but they do not solve the underlying issue.
The real question is whether leadership knowledge is concentrated in individuals or distributed across the system. When knowledge is hoarded or implicit, succession becomes fragile. When it is shared and reinforced over time, transitions become manageable.
Effective succession planning improves judgment by ensuring that leadership learning accumulates rather than resets.
How Succession Breaks Down
When succession planning is weak, the signs are familiar.
Transitions feel rushed. New leaders take longer than expected to settle in. The organization repeats mistakes it has already made. A small number of people become critical points of failure.
These are not surprises. They are the predictable result of treating succession as an event rather than a process.
What Changes When Succession Planning Works
When succession planning works, transitions are anticipated rather than reactive.
Potential successors are known and developed well before roles open. Leadership expectations are clearer. Knowledge moves with people rather than disappearing when they leave.
The organization still experiences change. It does not experience shock.
How This Principle Fits Within the System
Succession planning tests whether the system has built continuity over time. It reflects the combined effect of direction, capability, learning, and performance. When these elements are strong, leadership transitions sustain momentum rather than disrupt it.
A Question Worth Asking
Rather than asking whether the organization has a succession plan, I’ve found it more useful to ask:
If several key leaders were to change roles in the next year, would this organization lose momentum or continue to make sound decisions?
The answer usually reveals how real succession planning is.