Beyond CEO Succession: How Boards Should Develop Leadership

Beyond CEO Succession: How Boards Should Develop Leadership

A few days ago, I sat down with a CEO who shared something that stuck with me. "I've always tried to get my board involved in leadership succession," he said, "but they didn't seem very interested." This got me thinking about a fundamental question: how interested SHOULD a board really be in developing their company's leadership capabilities?

How deeply should a board be involved in developing their company's leadership capabilities and in leadership succession?

From Event to Process

We all know CEO succession is the board's most crucial responsibility. But here's what I've noticed after years of working with boards: most just focus on the CEO position, treating succession as a one-off event rather than what it really is - an ongoing process of building leadership strength across the organization.

The Leadership Ecosystem Approach

The best boards I've worked with take a different approach. They look beyond just the CEO role, actively engaging with the entire leadership ecosystem. They understand how executives complement each other, where capabilities overlap, and how team dynamics work. Why? Because tomorrow's CEO might be today's CFO, COO, or even a brilliant leader one or two levels down.

Tomorrow's CEO might be today's CFO, COO, or even a brilliant leader one or two levels down.

Moving Beyond Competency Checklists

These boards don't just have casual conversations about succession. They make it systematic, with regular discussions about leadership development and clear plans for potential successors. But here's what really sets them apart: they go beyond simple competency checklists. Instead of just asking "Does this person check all the boxes?", they're asking "Can this person transform our business model?"

From Oversight to Partnership

What I find fascinating is that the most effective boards have moved from pure oversight to genuine partnership. They're not just sitting back and evaluating from afar - they're getting their hands dirty, actively helping shape development experiences and creating opportunities for their rising stars.

This means regular exposure to leaders below the C-suite. It means getting involved in defining what future leadership should look like. It means mentoring rising executives, sharing their networks, creating learning opportunities. Most importantly, it means creating a culture where succession planning isn't about replacement - it's about growth.

Most importantly, it means creating a culture where succession planning isn't about replacement - it's about growth.

Quality Over Quantity

Here's what's interesting: the best boards don't necessarily spend more time on succession - they just spend it differently. They're not just ticking boxes in an annual review. They're creating opportunities to see leaders in action, challenging their thinking, and actively shaping their development.

Here's my question to every board member: When was the last time you really got to know your company's rising leaders? Not through formal presentations, but through real conversations about their vision, their challenges, their growth?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Marion Heil is the founder and managing director of Board+CEO Advisors. She is based in Vienna.