Redefiners
Leadership Lounge: The Art of Succession: How to Identify Tomorrow's Leaders Today
21 May 2025
Identifying and developing the next generation of leadership talent is critically important. No decision will have a bigger impact on the performance of an organization and its enduring legacy. Yet, many leaders struggle with effective succession planning. In this episode of Leadership Lounge, we talk to three of our trusted advisors—James Diggines, Rebecca Slan Jerusalim, and Stacey Shapiro—who share their perspectives on: The critical first steps CEOs should take to build effective succession processes How to spot leadership potential beyond the obvious candidates Common succession planning mistakes that can derail organizations Strategies for keeping unsuccessful candidates engaged and motivated How succession decisions can transform organizational culture "Too often succession is really a check the box exercise at a critical point in time, as opposed to having a long-term focus."Rebecca Slan Jerusalim, Leadership Advisor, Russell Reynolds Associates Four things you'll learn from this episode: Timing is everything in succession planning. Start succession planning as soon as you step into a new leadership role. The longer the duration, the easier it is to develop internal talent. Succession isn't replacement—it's development. Effective succession encompasses long-term talent development. Organizations must actively identify and invest in key talent year-over-year. Keep your talent pipelines broad and dynamic. Resist the urge to quickly converge on one or two candidates. Business conditions shift, and what you need in a leader today may differ dramatically from what you need tomorrow. Transparency builds loyalty. When succession decisions are made, providing clear feedback and development opportunities to unsuccessful candidates can retain crucial senior talent.A closer look at the research from this episode: Board Culture and Director Behavior Study | Russell Reynolds Associates Global CFO Turnover Index | Russell Reynolds Associates Russell Reynolds Associates Global CHRO Turnover Index | Russell Reynolds Associates Russell Reynolds Associates SHRM Succession Planning ROI Study | Society for Human Resources Management
Full Episode
Welcome to the Leadership Lounge, a place to kick back and listen as our experts dissect some of the biggest questions leaders face today. I'm Emma Coombe, Leadership Advisor in our London office. As a leader, identifying and developing the next generation of leadership talent isn't just important, it's critical.
No decision will have a bigger impact on the performance of your business and its enduring legacy. Yet, many leaders struggle with effective succession planning, despite understanding its importance. In this episode, we're uncovering how forward-thinking leaders approach succession. Why do many succession efforts fail? How can you spot leadership potential beyond the usual suspects?
What actions can you take today to transform succession planning into a cornerstone of your leadership legacy? But first, remember to share any burning questions you want our experts to answer by emailing redefiners at russellreynolds.com. It would be great to hear from you. And if you enjoy listening to our episodes, leave us a five-star review on Apple or Spotify. Let's dive in.
To help us explore this critical topic, I'm joined today in the lounge by James Diggins, a leadership advisor in Russell Reynolds Associates Singapore office, who specializes in executive succession. James, welcome to the Leadership Lounge.
Thanks, Emma. Appreciate you having me in the lounge.
So James, C-suite tenures are decreasing across industries. Our research found that CFO tenure is at a six-year low, while CHRO tenure was just 4.4 years in 2024. With leadership transitions happening more frequently, succession planning is happening with a new sense of urgency. What first concrete steps should leaders take to build an effective leadership succession process?
I think timing is crucial. The longer the duration you have, the easier it is to start. And I think my advice would be start as soon as you are appointed in role and start thinking about it. It gives you time to assess your team and understand what you've got and then help think about what development they may need. and what your external options are.
Leaving it too late is a really bad position to be in. We were called to do the CEO succession of a very well-known global financial services company three years ago, and the call came from the chairman to say, hey, we need to do CEO succession. And we said, when? And he said, I need to do it now. We said, what are your internal options? He said, one.
And so the board at that time meant they only had the choice of who the external candidates that were available at that time and one candidate internally. That's not a place you want to be in.
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