The 2024 election cycle is upon us and, as expected, there is a lot to pay attention to. Regardless of party affiliation or political leanings, one common theme being discussed across the board is the criticality of succession planning. We are hearing it in many ways – “Who would be in charge if X happened?” “I always thought Y was the alternative candidate?” “What would happen if Z dropped out of the race?” – but the message is obvious. Having a clear understanding of who is next in line should always be well thought out and well-articulated. Solving for political succession planning is not my intention of this content, but I do think there is an underlying point to all this that transcends the political realm. Succession planning, whether in politics or business, must be a top priority, and it must be communicated to those in the succession plan.

The reality for any leader is that their time in that role will eventually conclude. Rather than pretending that day will never come, organizations need to proactively identify the internal successors for leadership positions, develop them accordingly, and make sure that they have properly and effectively communicated the succession plan to those involved. We more frequently see the earlier pieces of this puzzle put into place, but things tend to get muddier around communication. Businesses have taken the steps to implement programs like high performer tracks, leadership development programs for their best and brightest, and junior executive positions for those nearing an inflection point in their career. What happens to the leaders identified for and participating in these programs? Well, sometimes nothing. Sometimes some of the most valuable employees to an organization end up in a place where their role feels stalled out and the possibility of upward mobility is unclear. They were identified as high performers, invested in from a development perspective, but now they do not understand what is next. At this point, they begin to consider one of two things: it is either time to move up or move out.

When faced with the possibility of moving up versus exploring opportunities outside their organization, people often consider external openings first. For one, they may be frustrated that their current organization has not proactively approached them about moving up. Additionally, it may feel “easier” or “less risky” to start looking outside of the company and limit ruffling any feathers by communicating that they are dissatisfied in their role. They start looking for a new opportunity, land a new role with increased responsibility and scope, and make the decision to resign from their current company. They start the resignation conversation only to be met with “But we were planning on you being the next in line for that position!” Likely equally flattered and confused, these candidates are stuck in a tricky situation. Do they continue with the new opportunity they signed on for? Or do they pull out of their new deal to stay on with the organization that they have grown with, are familiar with, and in many cases, have received a counteroffer from as leverage to stay?

People have to make those challenging decisions for themselves and there are pros and cons to each side of the equation. In either case, however, an organization is going to be left with an empty role that they need to fill, leading to fallout in numerous ways. When you take a step back and consider the situation at large, one imperative detail was missed that could have prevented the entire scenario from unraveling: telling that person that they were part of the succession plan. If organizations communicate succession plans and set expectations around what that means for the people involved, they better position themself for retention and adherence to the succession plan. It will never be a perfect science and, ultimately, people may look outside of the organization in pursuit of something that they feel they cannot obtain in their current organization, but laying the groundwork of a succession plan limits the likelihood of those high performers feeling stuck.

I will leave you with this thought: if you were to leave your organization today, does your successor know who they are? If they do not know, I would encourage you to have that conversation with them. If you do not know who that person is, start thinking it through. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.,” and I am certain that we all want to succeed.