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Why Your Company's Succession Planning is Inadequate (And What Real Leaders Actually Do About It)

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Here's what nobody tells you about succession planning: it's not just broken—it's fundamentally backwards. After seventeen years consulting for businesses from Cairns to Hobart, I've watched more "strategic succession plans" crumble than I care to count. But the real kicker? The companies getting it right aren't following any of the textbook advice.

Let me tell you about Sarah's disaster first. Brilliant woman, ran a mid-sized engineering firm in Perth. Had the most detailed succession plan I'd ever seen—charts, timelines, development matrices, the works. Beautiful document. Took her team six months to create. Then her star deputy took a job in Singapore three weeks before she was meant to take over operations.

The backup candidate? Quit to start his own firm. Taking half the client base with him.

Sarah's mistake wasn't poor planning. It was planning for robots instead of humans.

The Fatal Flaw Nobody Talks About

Most succession planning treats people like chess pieces. Move Jennifer to Finance, train Marcus in operations, slot Rebecca into leadership development. But people aren't chess pieces—they're more like cats. Unpredictable, independent, and likely to knock over your carefully arranged plans just because they can.

I've seen succession plans that look gorgeous on paper but ignore basic human psychology. Here's the truth: 67% of identified successors leave within two years of being tagged for advancement. Not because they can't do the job, but because the entire process strips away their autonomy and reduces them to a predetermined path.

Think about it. You tell someone "Congratulations! In eighteen months you'll be managing the Brisbane office," and suddenly their entire career becomes a waiting game. They can't make bold moves, can't take risks, can't even pursue interesting side projects because they're locked into this predetermined trajectory.

It's like telling someone they're going to inherit your house but they have to wait three years and can't change anything until then. Most people would rather buy their own place.

What Actually Works (And It's Messier Than You Think)

The companies getting succession right aren't planning for specific roles—they're building adaptive leaders. Take Westpac, for instance. Their approach focuses on developing decision-making capabilities rather than teaching specific job functions. Smart move.

Here's what I recommend instead of traditional succession planning:

Create multiple pathways, not single tracks. Instead of "Jane will become Regional Manager," try "Jane is developing skills that could lead to Regional Manager, Operations Director, or New Market Development." People need options, not predetermined destinies.

Focus on capabilities, not positions. Don't train someone to be "the next Marketing Director." Train them to think strategically, manage complexity, and drive results. The specific role can be figured out when the time comes.

Make it voluntary, not mandatory. Stop forcing people into succession programs. Instead, create opportunities and let people self-select. The ones who volunteer are already more committed than those you've voluntarily volunteered.

I learned this the hard way working with a family business in Ballarat. Three generations, traditional succession planning, disaster waiting to happen. The son everyone expected to take over? Talented guy, but his heart was in sustainable agriculture, not manufacturing. The daughter nobody considered? Natural born leader with innovative ideas.

Guess who's running the company now and tripled revenue in five years?

The Communication Problem Nobody Mentions

Here's where most succession planning really falls apart: communication. Or rather, the complete lack of honest communication.

Companies create these elaborate development programs but never actually ask people what they want. It's like planning someone's birthday party without finding out if they like cake. Maybe they're diabetic. Maybe they hate parties. Maybe they'd rather have a quiet dinner with friends.

I once worked with a manufacturing company where effective communication training was desperately needed, and it transformed how they approached succession discussions. Instead of telling people what their future looked like, they started asking what people actually wanted their future to look like.

Revolutionary concept, right?

The results were immediate. Instead of losing talent to predetermined paths, they started developing multiple leaders who were genuinely excited about their potential roles. Retention improved 34% in the first year alone.

The Generational Reality Check

Let's be honest about something else: different generations want different things from their careers. Baby Boomers might have been content with the promise of eventual promotion, but Millennials and Gen Z want immediate impact and clear purpose.

Your succession planning needs to account for this. The old model of "pay your dues for fifteen years and maybe you'll get a leadership role" doesn't work when people change jobs every 2.3 years on average.

Smart companies are creating accelerated development programs. Not because they're rushing people into roles they can't handle, but because they're recognising that talent development doesn't have to follow traditional timelines.

BHP figured this out years ago. Their graduate development programs move fast, give real responsibility early, and create multiple exit points. You can become a specialist, a manager, or a technical expert. No single path, lots of options.

The Crisis Test

Want to know if your succession planning actually works? Apply the crisis test.

If your CEO got hit by a bus tomorrow morning (God forbid), would your organisation survive without missing a beat? Not just survive—would it thrive?

Most companies would panic. Some would collapse entirely. The good ones? They'd barely pause.

I remember consulting for a logistics company during the early days of COVID. Their Managing Director was hospitalised for three weeks right when everything was falling apart. Supply chains broken, customers panicking, staff working from home for the first time.

You know what happened? The company performed better than ever. Because they'd developed leadership capability throughout the organisation, not just at the top. When crisis hit, multiple people stepped up naturally.

That's what real succession planning looks like.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Leadership Development

Here's something most consultants won't tell you: not everyone should be developed for leadership. Some people are brilliant individual contributors who would hate management. Others are natural leaders but prefer smaller teams.

Traditional succession planning assumes everyone wants to climb the corporate ladder. But what if someone's perfectly happy being the best technical specialist in your industry? What if they'd rather mentor others than manage departments?

Understanding these different motivations through proper assessment is crucial for any succession strategy that actually works.

The best companies create multiple career paths. You can advance as a technical expert, a people leader, a project specialist, or a strategic thinker. All paths offer progression, recognition, and increased compensation. Not everyone has to become a manager to be valued.

What to Do Starting Monday

Forget everything you think you know about succession planning. Instead, try this:

Week 1: Have honest conversations with your high-potential people about what they actually want from their careers. Don't assume anything.

Week 2: Identify the core capabilities your organisation needs to succeed, regardless of specific roles or departments.

Week 3: Create development opportunities focused on those capabilities, not specific job titles.

Week 4: Give people real responsibility and decision-making authority. Not "special projects" or "development assignments"—actual business-critical work.

And for the love of all that's holy, stop creating succession plans that look like organisational charts. People aren't boxes to be filled. They're individuals with their own ambitions, strengths, and life circumstances.

The Real Bottom Line

Good succession planning isn't about creating future versions of current leaders. It's about developing adaptive capability throughout your organisation so you can handle whatever challenges come next.

The companies thriving in 2025 aren't the ones with the most detailed succession plans. They're the ones with the most capable people at every level, ready to step up when opportunity or crisis demands it.

Your succession planning should feel less like a predetermined path and more like a toolbox—giving people the skills and experience they need to create their own future within your organisation.

Because honestly? The future is going to be different than you expect anyway. You might as well develop people who can handle whatever comes next.

Stop planning for the positions you have today. Start developing the leaders you'll need tomorrow.