The strategic process of identifying and developing internal candidates to fill key leadership positions when current leaders depart, retire, or advance.
Succession planning is a critical component of organizational resilience and leadership development. Effective succession plans identify potential successors for every key leadership position, assess readiness gaps, and create targeted development programs to prepare future leaders. At the CEO level, succession planning is a primary board responsibility, typically managed by the nominating and governance committee. Studies show that internal CEO successions tend to outperform external hires when the successor has been adequately prepared. However, many organizations lack robust succession plans — surveys consistently show that fewer than 50% of companies have documented CEO succession plans. Executive recruiters play a role in succession planning by benchmarking internal candidates against external market talent, providing objective assessment, and serving as a backup plan when internal succession fails.
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