The CEO Succession Planning Template
This CEO succession planning template lays out practical considerations and a process that Boards of Directors can use to proactively identify and prepare an organization’s next CEO.
CEO succession planning is a fundamental Board role. In the very common event where the current CEO is terminated or otherwise unable to continue (something unexpected happens), the Board must have a leadership continuity plan. Waiting for an unforeseen event to occur is too late in the CEO succession planning process. Not only does it leave no time to groom internal candidates, it means that external ones likely haven’t been broadly identified and fully vetted.
Criteria for Choosing the Succession CEO
The first step in CEO succession planning is defining the logical criteria the Board will use to make its choice. Defining these criteria is a thoughtful process based on the priorities of the organization. This includes identifying the challenges the organization faces (and will face) and the strategies it will implement to meet the Board’s future goals. These, in a large way define what the succession CEO will be accountable to the Board for. Defining these criteria ensures that the CEO succession planning process focuses on the most important needs of the future organization. These criteria for the succession CEO include:
- Their ‘mission’ (turnaround, build, consolidate, sell, etc.)
- Their functional background (finance, marketing, operations, etc.)
- Their leadership expertise (acquisitions, fund-raising, team-building, innovation, etc.)
- Their industry background (from the industry; outside it; what industries)
- Their career path prior (organizations, roles, locations, etc.)
- Their personality traits (analytical, creative, strategic, etc.)
Identifying, Ranking and Developing High Potential Candidates
Based on the agreed criteria, this template helps organize potential candidates who fit or mostly fit the criteria. It identifies their performance gaps and any additional experience or skill development required to fully meet the succession planning requirements for a new CEO. These factors combine to provide a current ranking of successor candidates.
Output of the CEO Succession Planning Template
The output of this CEO succession planning template is a logical set of criteria for defining the CEO that best meets the current and future needs of the organization. It also provides a ranked list of potential candidates based on their suitability and readiness. Finally, it helps identify and organize the additional development work required to bring each of the candidates up to future CEO succession capability.
In some cases, Boards have the luxury of planning for a current CEO to retire or otherwise move out of the role. This template and process are just as important in helping the Board logically sort and identify who the succession CEO should be.
Section Headings – CEO Succession Planning Template:
- Overview of the Business Next 3 – 10 Year
- Overall Descriptor of the CEO
- Functional Criteria
- Leadership Expertise
- Industry Experience
- Career Path
- Personality Traits
- Internal Candidates
- External Candidates
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