---
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.
