How board involvement varies in CEO succession planning

Who’s involved in the succession planning process? It depends on who you ask

Succession planning can vary greatly from one company to the next. In this edition of On the Board’s Agenda, we combine survey data on succession planning strategies to explore variance in responses provided by CEOs and corporate secretaries. They were separately asked to identify who was involved in 1) crafting a succession strategy and 2) then using it for a CEO transition. They then indicated whether the board of directors and/or CEO were involved in each step of the succession planning process.

At a high level, there was some unity between CEOs and corporate secretaries on elements of succession strategy and transition process. For example, both CEO (94%) and corporate secretary (97%) respondents noted the prominent involvement of boards in reviewing and approving succession plans. But variance existed, too. When asked about the CEO’s involvement in the review and approval process (53% for CEOs and 65% for corporate secretaries) or identifying successor candidates (84% and 67%), there was less alignment.

What do survey results indicate? That it would be wise to check whether board and management expectations are aligned in succession planning processes and strategies. Because regardless of a plan’s specific details, leadership congruence may help improve the odds of an effective transition. And in the event of an unplanned departure, getting on the same page now may save precious time later.