Succession Planning Is Outdated: A New Approach to Managing Leadership Transition

As veteran nonprofit leaders are retiring and our shared assumptions about what relevant leadership looks like continue to evolve, this session will explore a critical re-framing of traditional succession planning assumptions and practices. Guest faculty Miecha Forbes, Senior Vice President at Koya Leadership Partners, will argue that the term "succession planning" itself is outdated because it describes narrowly the process of identifying a successor for a specific leader.  She proposes that we think of the work of preparing for and managing leadership change as “intentional pathway planning” instead. This more expansive term serves as a reminder that navigating leadership change is more than thinking about a single role or person. It’s a holistic approach that should be applied to every step of hiring and growing effective leaders. 

Among the topics Miecha will address:

• What is "pathway planning" and how is it different than traditional succession planning?
• How can you define your organization's specific, mission-driven leadership needs?
• Prioritizing and promoting talent from within; using external search wisely.
• Enhancing diversity and inclusion through leadership transitions.
• Learning from real-life examples of organizations taking a more holistic approach to leadership change.

Faculty: