Mind Your How Blog

Most succession plans begin with a familiar and essential question: Who’s next?

Boards ask it. Executive search firms mobilize around it. Private equity partners track it closely.
And rightly so. Selecting the next leader is one of the most consequential decisions an organization will ever make. And yet, even with strong processes in place, executive search partnerships, internal development pipelines, detailed succession matrices, one critical lens is often underutilized:

Are we preparing the organization as intentionally as we are preparing the leader?

At Beyond Frontiers, we don’t enter with a mandate to redesign or replace your succession efforts. We enter to deepen and align them. Our work is about making sure the system is ready: so that your chosen leader can step into momentum, not misalignment. Succession, done with the right context and intention, isn’t a burden. It’s one of the most generative leadership opportunities an organization can have.

Why This Matters? Now More Than Ever.

Across sectors, leadership transitions are receiving more attention, more investment, and more care. And yet the outcomes remain inconsistent.

McKinsey reports that nearly half of leadership transitions fall short of expectations within two years. And 68% of new executives cite organizational culture and internal dynamics—not role scope or personal readiness—as the main challenge. That gap points to something important:

Even the best candidates can struggle when the system they inherit isn’t aligned, cohesive, or clear. And while most organizations are doing real, diligent work on the “who,” we’ve found that even the strongest succession plans benefit from a closer look at the “what”:

• What leadership ecosystem will this person be stepping into?
• What is the system currently optimized for—and what must it become?
• What unspoken dynamics might help or hinder a successful transition?

These aren’t challenges. They’re invitations. Succession is your opportunity to refresh alignment, clarify values, and prepare your organization for its next chapter.

A System View. To Strengthen What You're Already Doing.

We’ve partnered with organizations where search firms are already engaged, succession charts are in place, and internal talent is being actively developed. That’s exactly when our work becomes most valuable.

We don’t duplicate that process—we support and elevate it.

• For boards, we help align around not just who—but what success will truly require next.
• For search partners, our work serves as a collaborative complement—bringing insight into team dynamics, system alignment, and cultural readiness that enriches placement success and accelerates impact.
• For investors, we help preserve momentum and trust during a key value inflection point.
• For CHROs and talent leaders, succession often lives as both a strategy and a tension. You’re tracking potential, managing readiness, and aligning development plans—often while navigating competing expectations from the board and the C-suite.
• The Team Congruence Assessment is designed with you in mind: a light-touch, insight-rich tool that surfaces the invisible dynamics shaping leadership success. It helps move succession conversations from static plans to living systems—so you can champion not just continuity, but congruence.

Everyone in the succession ecosystem is doing important work. Our contribution is to help ensure the whole picture is being seen, together. In fact, some of our most rewarding work has been in partnership with executive search firms—where together, we’ve supported organizations in not just placing a great leader but preparing the ground so they can truly thrive.

Why We Start with Congruence

At Beyond Frontiers, we begin with congruence: the alignment between who you are, how you lead, and what your organization needs next. We explore:

• Whether leadership success is clearly defined and shared across stakeholders
• Whether your values are embedded and lived or overly concentrated in a few individuals
• Whether internal talent feels seen and stretched—or simply assessed
• Whether the board and executive team share a narrative for the next chapter—or are carrying different versions

These insights don't replace your succession plan, they enrich it. Because when the system is ready, the leader can actually lead.

Real-Life Lessons: Five Succession Stories, Five System Lessons

Every succession tells a story—not just of who was chosen, but what they stepped into.
Here are five well-known transitions that illustrate how system readiness shapes success:

Coca-Cola (1999): The Right Résumé, the Wrong Readiness

Douglas Ivester succeeded a legendary CEO but struggled to lead amid unclear board dynamics, weak cultural readiness, and poor stakeholder relationships.
Lesson: Even a well-qualified internal candidate can falter without a system prepared to receive them.

Procter & Gamble (2010s): Learning, Then Leading

After a rocky CEO transition in 2009, P&G recalibrated. They strengthened internal pipelines, clarified success criteria, and engaged the board in shaping future leadership.
Lesson: When the system is aligned, succession becomes not just possible—but powerful.

Amazon (2021): Succession by Design

Jeff Bezos handed over the reins to Andy Jassy, a long-time insider and builder of AWS. The move was years in the making, with deep alignment between strategy, structure, and stakeholder expectations.
Lesson: When succession is viewed as a multi-year system shift, not a last-minute search, leaders inherit clarity.

Microsoft (2014): System-Driven Transformation

Satya Nadella’s appointment marked not just a leadership change but a cultural shift. He stepped into a system that had begun loosening old models and was ready for his fresh leadership narrative.
Lesson: When the system is ready to evolve, the leader can catalyze it.

Starbucks (2000s–Current): System Memory & Founder Reliance

Howard Schultz’s multiple returns to the CEO role revealed a deeper issue: the brand’s identity, cultural clarity, and leadership expectations were often too closely tied to his presence. Even capable successors like Kevin Johnson struggled to maintain strategic and cultural continuity.
Lesson: Without intentional system-level transition planning, leadership risk increases—even when founder legacy is strong.

These stories aren't meant to name-and-shame or hold up heroes. They’re here to underscore this simple truth:

Succession planning is not only about finding the right person. It’s also about preparing the right environment.

Our Approach: A Pathway to Strengthen What’s Already in Motion

We don’t walk in with templates. We walk in with questions, tools, and insight that fit your context and expand your view.

Here’s how we work:

1. Clarity & Commitment

• Use the Team Congruence Assessment to reveal alignment gaps
• Co-create a next-generation CEO Success Profile anchored in what the system needs
• Support board-executive alignment with facilitated conversations and shared metrics
• Design emergency succession protocols with a development-forward mindset

2. Development & Depth

• Identify and assess internal candidates with both performance and potential in mind
• Create visibility and stretch opportunities that are intentional and equitable
• Make the succession conversation developmental, not just evaluative

3. Transition & Trust

• Design onboarding that considers relationship dynamics, power handoffs, and cultural narratives
• Coach both the incoming and outgoing leaders to lead with presence and purpose
• Build system-wide trust through communication that feels clear, not performative

While You Ask “Who’s Next?” — Also Ask “What Are They Walking Into?”

Succession planning already involves deep care, strategy, and rigor. And there’s often one more conversation waiting to be had:

What’s the state of the system this person will inherit? Are we aligned in what success looks like—not just in skills, but in spirit?

This isn’t a critique. It’s an opportunity. To move from replacement to readiness. From handover to lift-off.

Because a brilliant candidate in a misaligned system can’t succeed. And even a solid system can’t realize its next chapter without the right leadership alignment. But when person and system are both ready? That’s when succession becomes a true inflection point.

Wondering If You’re System Ready?

That’s exactly the right question.

And it’s one most organization are asking at some level even if not out loud. Here are a few signals to consider:

• Do we share a clear, future-facing definition of what leadership success looks like?
• Are internal leaders being stretched, supported, and developed—or just assessed?
• Are we aligned—board, leadership, stakeholders—on what our next chapter truly needs?
• Is the culture open to change, or subtly holding onto legacy modes?
• Are there unspoken tensions or dynamics that a new leader might encounter unprepared?

If you're unsure or if your answers vary depending on who you ask, you’re not alone. And the good news is: System readiness is measurable, visible, and actionable.

A Light, Strategic First Step

Whether you're in an active search, planning, or simply want a clearer picture of your leadership system, the Team Congruence Assessment is a smart place to begin.

• Minimal time commitment
• Seamlessly integrates into your existing process
• Delivers insight you can use immediately

It’s not a report. It’s a mirror. And it helps everyone: board, leadership, search partners, and talent leaders show up with more clarity and confidence. Succession planning, done well, doesn’t just protect your future.

It energizes it.

Let’s begin there. Together.