| name | succession-plan |
| description | Creates succession planning frameworks for key roles with readiness assessments, development paths, risk analysis, and transition timelines. Use when preparing for leadership continuity. |
| allowed-tools | Read Write Glob |
| metadata | {"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"} |
Succession Plan
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Identify and prepare successors for key leadership or critical roles
- Create a continuity plan in case a key person leaves unexpectedly
- Build development paths for high-potential team members
- Assess organizational risk from single points of failure
DO NOT use this skill for general career development plans, hiring strategies, or org chart restructuring. This is specifically for succession and continuity planning.
Core Principle
SUCCESSION PLANNING IS NOT REPLACEMENT PLANNING — IT IS ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLE WHO CAN STEP INTO CRITICAL ROLES WHEN THE TIME COMES.
Phase 1: Brief
Required Inputs
| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|---|
| Company size | "How many people are on your team?" | 5-25 |
| Key roles | "Which roles are critical — if someone left tomorrow, what would break?" | Must be provided |
| Current bench | "Do you have anyone in mind who could grow into those roles?" | Unknown — will assess |
| Timeline | "Planning horizon — 1 year, 3 years, or 5 years?" | 1-3 years |
| Urgency | "Is this proactive planning or responding to an upcoming departure?" | Proactive |
| Budget for development | "Budget available for training, coaching, or stretch assignments?" | Minimal — mostly on-the-job |
GATE: Confirm brief before proceeding.
Phase 2: Assess
Role Criticality Matrix
For each key role, evaluate:
- Impact if vacant — what breaks, what stalls, revenue impact
- Time to fill externally — weeks or months to hire and ramp
- Knowledge concentration — is critical knowledge in one person's head?
- Risk level — High / Medium / Low based on the above
Successor Readiness Assessment
For each potential successor:
- Ready now — could step in within 30 days with minimal support
- Ready in 1 year — needs specific development to close gaps
- Ready in 2-3 years — high potential but significant gaps remain
- No successor identified — flag as critical risk
GATE: Present the assessment and wait for user input before building development plans.
Phase 3: Build
Deliverables
1. Succession Planning Document
- Role-by-role succession map with named successors and readiness level
- Risk summary with roles ranked by vulnerability
- Development plan per successor with specific actions and timelines
2. Development Action Plans
- Skill gaps identified per successor
- Specific actions: stretch assignments, mentoring, training, shadowing
- Milestones and check-in dates (quarterly minimum)
3. Emergency Continuity Plan
- For each critical role: who takes over tomorrow if needed
- Knowledge transfer checklist — documentation, credentials, relationships
- 30-day stabilization playbook for each critical vacancy
4. Knowledge Documentation Template
- Process documentation for critical workflows
- Key contacts and vendor relationships
- Decision-making authority and escalation paths
Phase 4: Polish
Review and Update Cadence
- Quarterly: check successor progress against milestones
- Annually: full reassessment of critical roles and bench strength
- Trigger-based: update immediately when roles change or people leave
Communication Guidelines
Advise on how to discuss succession planning transparently without creating anxiety — frame it as investment in people, not replacement threat.
Example 1: Solopreneur Preparing to Step Back
Critical roles: CEO/Founder (everything), Lead Sales, Operations
Approach: Document all processes, cross-train a senior team member, identify external candidates for advisory support
Example 2: Growing Startup (20 people, 3 department leads)
Critical roles: CTO, Head of Sales, Head of Operations
Approach: Identify one internal successor per role, create 12-month development plans, establish emergency coverage pairs
Anti-Patterns
- Secret succession plans — hiding the plan creates politics. Be transparent about development opportunities.
- Naming one successor only — single points of failure in the succession plan defeat the purpose. Identify 2 candidates per role.
- All development, no documentation — if critical knowledge lives in someone's head, a successor cannot access it. Document first.
- Ignoring the founder role — solopreneurs are the biggest single point of failure. Plan for your own absence.
- Set and forget — a plan created once and never reviewed is a false sense of security.
Recovery
- No internal candidates: Build a plan combining external hiring pipeline with accelerated development of closest internal candidates.
- Founder cannot delegate: Start with documenting one process per week. Delegation is a muscle built gradually.
- Key person resistant to knowledge sharing: Frame it as reducing their burden, not replacing them. Everyone benefits from documented processes.
- Too many critical roles: Prioritize by impact. Start with the top 3 highest-risk roles and expand later.
