Succession Planning Course

Lesson 1 • Business Case for Succession Planning

Examines the organisational risks of talent gaps and the financial impact of leadership vacuums. Motivates investment in a formal succession programme.

Lesson 2 • Defining Succession Planning

Clarifies what succession planning is and distinguishes it from replacement hiring. Sets the conceptual baseline for all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 3 • Core Principles and Guiding Values

Introduces the ethical and strategic principles that underpin effective succession systems. Anchors decision-making throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Prioritising Positions for Succession

Applies scoring and weighting methods to rank roles by succession urgency. Converts raw inventory data into an actionable priority list.

Lesson 2 • Reviewing and Updating Role Criticality

Establishes a cadence for revisiting role criticality as strategy and structure evolve. Ensures the succession plan remains current and relevant.

Lesson 3 • Conducting a Role Inventory

Guides learners through auditing all organisational roles to surface succession gaps. Produces the raw data needed for prioritisation.

Lesson 1 • Calibration Sessions and Talent Reviews

Teaches facilitation of cross-functional talent review meetings to validate assessments. Builds organisational consensus around successor readiness.

Lesson 2 • Evaluating Performance and Potential

Distinguishes current performance from future potential and teaches how to measure both. Prevents over-reliance on past results when selecting successors.

Lesson 3 • Assessment Tools and Methods

Surveys validated tools—360 feedback, simulations, and structured interviews—for evaluating successor candidates. Equips learners to select appropriate methods.

Lesson 4 • Building and Documenting the Successor Pool

Formalises the process of nominating, vetting, and recording successor candidates. Creates a structured talent pool ready for development planning.

Lesson 1 • Piloting and Scaling the Process

Designs a phased rollout starting with a pilot group before enterprise-wide deployment. Reduces risk and builds organisational confidence in the process.

Lesson 2 • Governance and Accountability Structures

Establishes ownership, oversight bodies, and escalation paths for succession decisions. Ensures accountability at every level of the organisation.

Lesson 3 • Integrating with HR and Business Cycles

Aligns succession activities with performance reviews, workforce planning, and budget cycles. Prevents succession from operating as an isolated initiative.

Lesson 4 • Process Architecture and Workflow

Maps the full succession planning cycle from role identification through successor readiness. Creates a shared process model for all stakeholders.

Lesson 1 • Selecting Development Experiences

Applies the 70-20-10 model to select on-the-job, social, and formal learning experiences. Ensures development is experiential and accelerated.

Lesson 2 • Writing Effective Development Plans

Structures IDPs with SMART goals, timelines, resources, and success measures. Converts development intentions into accountable commitments.

Lesson 3 • Tracking and Updating Development Progress

Establishes check-in cadences and progress metrics to keep IDPs on track. Enables timely adjustments when development stalls or priorities shift.

Lesson 4 • Manager and Mentor Roles in Development

Defines the responsibilities of direct managers and assigned mentors in executing IDPs. Builds the support network that accelerates successor growth.

Lesson 1 • Building Manager Accountability

Instils succession responsibilities in line managers through clear expectations and incentives. Shifts succession ownership from HR to the business.

Lesson 2 • Engaging the Executive Team

Equips HR professionals to present succession data and gain executive buy-in. Translates talent metrics into business language executives respond to.

Lesson 3 • Board-Level Succession Oversight

Addresses the board's governance role in CEO and senior leadership succession. Prepares HR to support and inform board-level succession discussions.

Lesson 4 • Mapping Stakeholder Influence and Interest

Identifies all stakeholders, their level of influence, and their stake in succession outcomes. Provides the foundation for a targeted engagement plan.

Lesson 1 • Using Data to Drive Continuous Improvement

Applies metric insights to identify process weaknesses and prioritise programme enhancements. Closes the feedback loop between measurement and action.

Lesson 2 • Evaluating Programme ROI

Applies cost-benefit analysis to quantify the financial return of succession investments. Builds the business case for continued programme funding.

Lesson 3 • Key Succession Metrics and KPIs

Introduces the core quantitative and qualitative indicators of succession health. Establishes a shared measurement vocabulary for the organisation.

Lesson 4 • Designing a Succession Scorecard

Builds a balanced scorecard that tracks process, output, and outcome metrics over time. Provides a single-view dashboard for leadership reporting.

Lesson 1 • Succession in Diverse Organisational Contexts

Adapts succession strategies for family businesses, nonprofits, and public sector organisations. Addresses unique governance and cultural dynamics in each context.

Lesson 2 • Sustaining and Evolving the Programme

Builds mechanisms to institutionalise succession planning so it outlasts individual champions. Ensures the programme adapts as the organisation and environment change.

Lesson 3 • Succession Planning for Emerging Roles

Addresses how to plan succession for roles that do not yet exist but are strategically anticipated. Prepares the organisation for future capability needs.

Lesson 4 • Enterprise-Wide Succession Strategy

Elevates succession from a departmental process to an enterprise talent strategy. Aligns succession depth across all business units and geographies.