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10 Succession Planning Examples to Build Stronger Leaders and Ensure Business Continuity
Published on:
January 31, 2025
Updated on:
May 14, 2025
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Succession planning a must-have for all organizations that look for business continuity and the minimization of disruptions. They are the very tool to prepare your future leaders anything from planned retirement to unexpected departures.
That is exactly why having the right succession planning strategy is key. But what does effective succession planning look like in practice? We will be exploring just that with best practices and top succession planning examples in this post. Not only that but by the end we'll also give our FREE Succession Plan ready to be downloaded! So let's get to it!
Before we get to our examples, it may be a good idea to understand the best practices surrounding succession planning.
Now that we have some best practices out of the way if you choose to create your own succession planning, let’s take a look at some different types of succession planning case studies that you can also pick out.
Executive succession planning is specifically designed for executive-level changes that may arise due to a variety of reasons. For example, a tech company may be planning for a retiring CEO.
In this case, the company would start by identifying critical positions within the organization, focusing on matching the CEO’s role. Next would be to identify high-potential individuals, done so by evaluating internal candidates.
Once this stage is through, the company will invest in talent development likely at the COO level, with training on leadership, strategic project involvement, and more. This type of preparation will help build a robust leadership pipeline.
Once the current CEO retires, the transition will be smooth due to the comprehensive preparation and development of the upcoming leader, ensuring long-term success for the organization. This is a way to approach succession that exemplifies effective planning as it maintains continuity and minimizes any disruptions.
A real-world executive succession planning example is when Satya Nadella succeeded Steve Ballmer as CEO at Microsoft back in 2014. This was a well-thought-out transition and Nadella was an internal candidate for the position who had a thorough understanding of the company and operations already.
Microsoft has made successful CEO transitions multiple times in its history and one strong example is the switch between Bill Gates and Satya Nadella. Back in 2000, Steve Ballmer had gotten the position from Gates but when he retired as well in 2014, Nadella took over. During this period the internal promotion proved Microsoft's ability to develop talent from within and they we able to pivot more towards AI and cloud computing.
Critical role backups are a common corporate succession planning type. For example, a firm relies heavily on a certain role, let’s say the head of risk management.
Similar to the previous scenario, in this case, the company must identify high-potential individuals within the team who can potentially step into this role. This way they can make way for internal promotions without the cost of outside hiring. A senior risk analyst perhaps, may be chosen for succession and they will need additional training before they get acquainted with their new responsibilities.
With this logic, if an unexpected departure happens in such a critical role, the company will have already trained and developed another individual internally, ready to take responsibility. This way, the company has made use of its existing talent pool and successfully initiated a succession plan.
A real-world example could be Apple’s Tim Cook. Before Steve Jobs resigned as CEO due to health issues, Apple had already been preparing Cook to succeed Jobs as his role was arguably the most critical.
Apple gave significant operational responsibilities to Cook and ensured that he would seamlessly transition into his new role when the time arrived.
Upon the company's CEO Jack Welch's departure, the company chose Jeff Immelt to success in 2001. This was a careful selection process that allowed the company to be a great example of a secure and smooth transition process. They were able to make sure any disruptions were minimized and aligned with long-term business strategies.
Succession planning can also apply to smaller team settings, as in team lead succession. Let’s take a sales team for example.
This team is on the lookout for a new leader to replace their team lead once they leave. In this case, a succession plan is in order. Once the organization is aware the team lead is leaving, the first thing is to identify which of the team members shows the most promise to replace them.
Next, in order to prepare them for future leadership roles, the company should plan to provide, mentorship, training, and opportunities to lead projects until they are ready to take on the role indefinitely.
A new leadership pipeline has been created that guarantees a smooth transition once the team lead leaves. Once the handover is complete and organizational processes prove to be undisturbed, it is safe to assume a successful leadership succession for this sales team.
As a real-world example, we can take Google as a sample. Marissa Mayer was one of the original engineers in the company and a key team lead before leaving to be Yahoo’s CEO. To prepare for her leave, Google already had several candidates to replace her getting ready.
A similar succession planning example to Ford, Walmart has managed multiple generations of CEOs, balancing between family and professional management. The founder Sam Walton stepped down and his son took over and again in 2014, external executive Doug McMillon became CEO alongside other family members. This balancing act in their succession planning is a great example of a company knowing its needs and ensuring long-term success in alignment with their objectives in the long run.
Just because succession planning may sound very corporate, does not mean it doesn’t apply to more tight-knit communities. In family establishments as well, you could plan for the future.
Let’s say a family-owned restaurant is planning for retirement at the end of the year and the owner’s daughter shows the most promise and interest to take over the business. That is the identification of a high-potential individual in this case.
Before the end of the year is reached, the owner and daughter should spend extra time making sure all necessary information is transferred appropriately, preparing the daughter to lead the business. You could even call this a talent pipeline.
When the owner retires at the end of the year, the daughter is well prepared to take over and all parties involved know that’s the case which ensures the elimination of all disruptions to operations in and out of the establishment.
A very well-known example of this would be Ford Motor Company. A family-owned business founded by Bill Ford was taken over by Henry Ford in 1999. The family had been preparing for this transition for a long time and a smooth handover in the Ford family was ensured, demonstrating how effective planning ensures success across generations.
Ford as we all know is big family corporation and while there have been many family related transitions within, the company has also found success in external leadership when necessary. One notable succession example was when in 2006 Ford brough in Alan Mulally to manage crisis and innovation. In his leadership Ford was able to dodge bankruptcy and plan well for the future in alignment with their long-term goals.
You could also approach succession planning from a skills and qualifications point of view. A broader sense of preparation for this sort of succession planning will start by identifying what critical roles may require this type of readiness.
Once this step is clear, the talent pool will need a series of actions to develop and improve on their pre-existing qualifications. The focus here is to build on these skills as well as possible in order to make sure no disturbances are created within the organization due to a job-related change.
If any of the specialists in a department that was deemed critical decides to depart unexpectedly, the company now has a ready talent pool that they can choose a new employee from for that particular role. This approach clearly illustrates the main idea behind succession planning and how it ensures seamless transitions.
A real-life example of skill-based succession planning is IBM’s leadership transition when Ginny Rometti succeeded Sam Palmisano as CEO. IBM emphasized the need for a leader who had deep technical expertise in order to fulfill the needs of the role fully, hence ensuring long-term organizational success.
This is likely the most famous example of succession planning out there. When Jobs' health began declining, Apple had already been preparing Cook to take his position in true succession planning fashion and his expertise made Cook the logical successor when the time came. He officially became CEO in 2011 where the transition was seamless and allowed the company to continue its operations without and issues.
If these succession planning examples just don’t cut it for you and you need a sample template to get you started on your own planning, then we’ve got you covered!
A structured approach is everything when it comes to succession planning. That is exactly why having a tool like Teamflect that allows you to plan accordingly right inside Microsoft Teams is so important. Teamflect allows you to not only centralize your performance management but also your talent management. Using Teamflect you can;
Every layer of your performance management data will be seamlessly integrated into Teams and help you track progress in all regards, whether that is goals, tasks, reviews, or feedback. Teamflect will provide the right space for your team to make the best decisions and move forward with dependable steps!
We've already established why succession planning is so crucial but why do they fail still? One key reason is the lack of clear communication. If there are no ongoing discussion around professional development than it will become difficult to identify and prepare the right prospects.
When succession planning is treated as an ad-hoc process, it becomes reactive instead of proactive. To avoid these pitfalls, ensure your succession planning process is integrated into your organization's culture and strategic vision.
One key decision when it comes to succession planning is whether or not you'll hire internally or externally. Internal succession has its own advantages, especially since your workforce already has a deep understanding of company culture and other operational behavior.
On the other hand, external succession can bring a fresh perspective and a unique approach. Still, all external hires will require time to adjust and may struggle to adapt as opposed to internal candidates. While there isn't a one-size fits all answer to this, a healthy balance is usually the way to go. Develop your internal talent, and keep an eye on external candidates to fill any skill gaps that can arise.
The implementation of a robust succession plan is a crucial aspect of a successful organization, especially in the long term. Leveraging different types of succession planning examples, and methods like the 9-box talent review, you can help align potential employees with future leadership roles.
Tools like Teamflect will make things even easier for you to streamline your succession planning and various other performance management needs. With such strategies implemented in your operations regularly, your organization will set itself up for a sustainable and successful future.
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