Executive Search vs. Succession Planning: Why Both Matter
- Marion Heil
- 19. Feb.
- 2 Min. Lesezeit
Aktualisiert: 12. Sept.
A colleague asked me recently: "You're an Executive Search consultant, but I notice you write a lot about succession planning. Why not focus more on search?" It's a good question, and I'd love to share my perspective on this.
Executive search is just one piece of the larger succession puzzle.
Here's the thing - executive search is just one piece of the larger succession puzzle.
While search focuses on finding the right leader for an immediate need, succession planning is about building a sustainable leadership pipeline for your organization's future.
The Healthcare Analogy
I like to think about this with a real world parallel: Think of Executive search as calling a specialist when you need immediate medical attention. It's crucial, targeted, and focuses on addressing an immediate need. You want the best expert you can find, right now. When our clients come to us for an executive search, we're solving an immediate leadership need - diving deep to find that perfect candidate who can step in and make an impact right away.
Succession planning, on the other hand, is more like having a comprehensive health and wellness program. It's proactive, long-term focused, and involves regular check-ups, preventive care, and building healthy habits for the future.
Think of Executive Search as calling a specialist when you need immediate medical attention, while Succession Planning is more like having a comprehensive, long-term health and wellness program.
What Makes Them Different
What makes succession planning different from pure search?
First, it's about timing. While search addresses immediate needs, succession planning lets us take a longer view - identifying future leaders early, understanding their potential, and helping them grow into bigger roles.
Second, it's about depth. Search focuses on finding the right person for a specific role. Succession planning helps organizations build layers of leadership talent across multiple positions and levels.
Third, it's about cultural continuity. While bringing in fresh external talent through search can inject new perspectives (which is sometimes exactly what's needed!), succession planning helps preserve and evolve organizational knowledge and values over time.
That's why we love working with both paths. Sometimes the best solution is an external search – other times it's about developing internal talent who can step up when the time comes. The most successful organizations we work with understand that these approaches complement each other perfectly - using targeted searches to bring in transformational leaders when needed, while continuously developing their internal talent pipeline.
Sometimes the best solution is an external search – other times it's about developing internal talent who can step up when the time comes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marion Heil is the founder and managing director of Board+CEO Advisors. She is based in Vienna.
