Here’s the hard truth: Too many organizations today are throwing new leaders into the deep end without a life vest. No onboarding, no clarity, no support—just a vague “figure it out” mentality. What happens? These leaders are overwhelmed, afraid to ask for help, and left guessing what success actually looks like. Then we hold them accountable for expectations we never took the time to clearly define.
This isn’t just a leadership development problem—it’s a systemic culture and retention problem. And it’s costing you your best talent in the roles you need most as well as the business results you could be realizing.
Succession planning involves strategically identifying, developing, and preparing internal talent to step into critical leadership roles. It's not just about who’s next; it's about proactively building a system that:
Succession planning ensures that when a leader exits the organization, someone else is ready and capable to take over that role. It’s about preparing your people to lead well before they're ever needed. When done well, it removes ambiguity and clarifies what’s next for the business and the individual.
Companies can often fall into the trap of focusing on the urgent rather than the truly important. And when it comes to succession planning for future leaders, that’s absolutely the case. In fact, according to SHRM, more than half (56%) of organizations don’t practice succession planning at all.
Succession planning can also fall under “having the best of intentions.” Deloitte has found that 86% of leaders believe leadership succession planning to be “urgent” or “important”, and yet only 14% believe they do it well. To be clear, the ripple effect of succession planning — whether done well or ignored — is felt across the organization for years to come.
The result is that when a key leader leaves, that absence often creates panic, confusion, and stalled momentum. And replacing an executive or senior leader can be costly; anywhere from 1.5 to 4 times their annual salary, depending on the role, industry, and complexity of the hiring process. But with a well-designed plan, those moments of change become strategic opportunities, not costly financial and cultural disruptions.
Hiring externally might seem like a quick solution, but it comes with serious risk. Research from the Knowledge at Wharton, a business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, that external hires don’t perform as well for up to two years, take longer to onboard, and cost 18–20% more on average.
Meanwhile, internally promoted leaders are more productive faster, creating conditions for more predictable revenue growth, greater customer retention, and brand differentiation. Businesses that prioritize succession planning and leadership have 37% higher income per employee and enjoy 9% higher gross margins, according to the same research from Deloitte. These are tangible business advantages that simply cannot be ignored.
Don’t overlook the talent sitting right in front of you. Promoting from within isn’t just cost-effective—it’s smart leadership. These folks already know your culture, understand your business, and you’ve seen their work in action. Start by identifying internal candidates who have the potential to step into leadership roles if and when those spots open up. Some may be ready to step in short-term, others might be your long-term successors. Either way, build your bench now—because when the time comes, you want to be ready.
Those internally promoted are also far less likely to leave within the first year, improving retention rates and lowering future recruiting and retained search fees, onboarding and training costs (over time, a business typically invests 10% to 20% of an employee's salary annually in training and development), and stemming lost productivity during the vacancy.
Last but certainly not least, they become stronger culture carriers, reinforcing company values and driving trust and broader employee engagement. When a respected leader leaves, others will take notice, ask questions, possibly disengage, or even leave themselves.
Current Approaches to Succession Planning
The unfortunate reality is that succession planning often gets deprioritized—until it’s too late.
Leaders end up getting promoted for technical excellence, not people leadership. For example, the top-performing salesperson gets elevated into a sales leadership role even though their skillset and passions are far more suited for closing business and supporting customers, not coaching and developing current and future sales talent.
As a result, companies have:
Leaders end up falling back on old habits without reinforcement. The cost? Talent loss, stalled innovation, and missed opportunities to scale.
The Path Ahead: Future-Proofing Your Culture
Succession planning isn't just about filling seats—it's about future-proofing your culture. When done right, it keeps your institutional knowledge alive, ensures your people are ready to step up, and builds resilience into your business. And here's the real win: it helps you make fair, unbiased decisions about who leads next, opening the door to more diverse, capable leadership. Great succession planning creates clarity, strengthens culture, and puts the right people in the right roles—based on data, not guesswork. When you update it continuously, you're not just reacting to change—you’re thriving through it. And by identifying and developing future leaders now, you’re closing skill gaps before they become problems. That’s how you build a high-performing, human-first organization that lasts.
Succession planning supports more than business continuity—it reinforces a strong leadership culture that emphasizes and values:
When building your succession strategy, start by focusing on both vulnerable and critical roles. If a leader walks out tomorrow, is there someone ready—really ready—to step in? If the answer’s no, you’re looking at a high-risk role with no clear successor and a potential knowledge vacuum. And which roles, if left unfilled even temporarily, would disrupt operations, slow momentum, or hurt culture?
All leadership roles matter—but let’s be honest: some have a wider ripple effect than others. Think CFO or GM vs. team lead.
Your first move? Double down on the roles that are both vulnerable and critical. That’s your danger zone—and your biggest opportunity to create stability, continuity, and future-ready leaders.
This isn’t just about plugging holes. It’s about building a proactive talent pipeline that protects your culture and powers long-term performance at your most essential positions.
Let’s get real—your business can’t afford to stall when a key player steps out. That’s why effective succession planning isn’t just a “nice to have,” it’s a leadership imperative. It keeps your mission moving forward and your top roles covered, no matter what curveballs come your way.
But here’s the real win: when you invest in growing your internal talent and give them a line of sight to the future, you’re not just filling roles—you’re fueling engagement, loyalty, and long-term performance.
A succession plan without leadership development is just wishful thinking. Future leaders need to be developed through systems that include:
As we said earlier, far too often succession planning often gets pushed aside—until it’s too late. To avoid that scramble, get clear on ownership. Who’s accountable for spotting and growing your next generation of leaders? The CEO? CHRO? The board? Someone has to take the lead. And just as importantly, create champions across the C-suite. Make it matter. Tie it to incentives. Make sure at least one senior leader is fighting for the process, not just when there's a gap, but every day.
Your succession plan becomes your competitive advantage when internal candidates are trained, tested, and trusted. Promoting from within pays off in performance, retention, and culture. But it doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design.
We can create that design together. At DX Learning, we believe that a robust succession plan is not just about risk management—it’s about managing culture. To explore how a more strategic approach to succession planning can enhance your talent strategy and improve your overall business performance, reach out to DX Learning.
If you’re leading without a succession plan, you’re reacting instead of leading. The future is unpredictable—your readiness shouldn’t be. Start now.