Why This Season Must Be Different: A New Approach to Succession Planning

It’s a story I know all too well. I get a call from a panicked board member in November - or January or (gasp!) April - saying that their longtime, beloved charter school executive is leaving that summer and they don’t know if they have a viable internal successor ready to take on that key role. Or maybe the call is from the outgoing leader themselves, often before they have even told their board, with an almost apologetic tone and whispered confession that they have realized this current school year is going to be their last and they know their board is going to freak out because - you’ve guessed it - they don’t know that they have a viable internal successor ready to take their place. 

Personally, I don’t mind getting these calls. I love supporting and guiding school boards, leaders, staff and community through these kinds of transitions (it’s actually my favorite part of my job!) and in my twenty years of recruiting, selecting and onboarding school leaders I think I have learned a thing or two about how to do it effectively (view this blog post from years ago on how “Practice Makes Perfect”). If your organization has the time and resources to build a solid plan, engage stakeholders, find and hire someone to help build a talent pool and support your selection process, you can have a really good outcome. 

But success in these situations is never guaranteed and there can be costs to bringing in someone from the outside - demoralizing internal staff who get passed over for senior leadership roles, potential culture shock from bringing in someone new who isn’t tested with your community and staff, the need to devote substantial time and energy to bring a new leader up to speed, etc. As someone who cares about the sector more broadly, I can’t help but think that we are missing the boat by not setting up a clearer pathway to succession and ensuring continuity where possible from one leader to the next. I am particularly concerned to get these calls now when a leaner talent pipeline, tighter budgets and declining interest in education leadership post-pandemic means that it can be even more difficult to build and sustain quality leaders within K-12 education organizations. 

I know why this happens. I spent a dozen years on charter school boards, always with a seat on the governance or executive committees (sometimes chairing them). We talk about succession planning in annual board retreats, strategic planning sessions, and our periodic sit-downs between leaders and board members but despite our best intentions in those meetings, real world crises and kids’ and staff needs and the broader world around us get in the way. Succession planning feels like a “nice to have” and also feels really daunting and so it sits on the long term “to-do” list until it’s too late to do anything about it. 

Board members are scared to bring it up with leaders, thinking it may lead them to feel unwelcome or encourage them to exit; leaders are scared to bring it up with board members as they fear it will lead them to be pushed out or seen as non-essential. In all of these cases, we must - as the adults in charge - put aside our personal fears and parochial concerns and do what is best for kids, which means preparing for all future scenarios and ensuring we have a strong leadership bench when the time comes to activate it. 

I’m not proposing we ignore reality or put every crucial issue aside to focus on succession. However, I do think that if we break the succession planning big issue into a few smaller - but still important and helpful - action steps, we can then actually make progress towards our ultimate goal. 

So what would it take?

One item I should address up front is that when I talk about succession planning, I am calling out the need to look inside your organization to assess your current talent and figure out: A) If you have the skills and experiences you need in the case a senior leader departs; and B) What you would need to do to develop those skills and experiences from within your current leaders if they do not exist today. This is contrasted with the idea of succession planning that centers on hiring an external leader who works alongside the current leader for a year or two as an heir apparent and then takes over. 

To effectively plan for a senior leader succession, you need to first: 

• Build an objective and accurate description of the CEO/ED/Superintendent role.
  • Focus on the core of what the role is and should be moving forward.
• Outline a set of leadership competencies for the role that can be measured and evaluated over time. 

Next, evaluate your current bench

• Objectively assess your current leaders against the leadership competencies for the top role.
  • To gain more insight on their skills, you can lead a series of assessment activities (i.e. a mini selection process of sorts) internally as well as offer leadership candidates concrete, authentic opportunities to demonstrate proficiency by taking on aligned projects internally.
• Once you have assessed leaders against those competencies, you should offer them feedback in a thoughtful, competency-aligned way so they know where they stand today based on your assessment.
  • Feedback is key! The competencies you flagged for improvement are the foundation for an action plan around their growth in the coming months and years. 

Finally, assess your findings and take action

• Your CEO/ED and board leads should review the data from this exercise and assess the following:
  • What is the overall strength of your internal pipeline?
  • Where are the gaps/potential issues (i.e. places where you don’t see strength in the existing pool)?
  • What concrete tasks and real-life work experiences (coupled with deliberate coaching and development support) could help individuals improve in the areas you have identified?
    • If these are common areas that are gaps, you could consider group opportunities for development as well as individualized ones.
  • What will you do to follow up and re-assess their readiness? At what interval? Who will be responsible for the follow up?
• Lay out the action plan, commitments to your senior leaders (and one another) and a system of accountability on the part of the CEO/ED and the board. 

Planning for succession is not easy. In fact, it often feels like a long term task in a world where we are constantly operating in survival mode. But take it from someone who has seen hundreds of leader transitions over the years - the payoff in having prepared, high quality internal talent ready for senior leadership roles is worth the effort. 

Ultimately, the effort invested in proactive succession planning, building a strong internal talent pipeline and clearly defining pathways for leadership development, is undeniably worthwhile. By preparing high-quality internal talent for senior leadership roles, organizations can ensure continuity, maintain morale, and ultimately do what is best for the students and communities they serve. If you’re ready to get started, don’t be afraid to reach out. We exist to help you through these challenges, so let our team’s expertise guide you through the process.