In a year of leadership volatility, here’s how strong boards stay ready: clear plans, active pipelines, and culture-led criteria-before crisis hits.

Think back to Logan Roy’s haemorrhagic stroke in the pilot of Succession, when a single moment plunged the board into chaos as everyone scrambled for share certificates and signatures. That scene is entertaining-but also painfully plausible. Interim CEOs already account for nearly one in five leadership changes worldwide this year, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, suggesting many organisations are closer to Logan’s panic than a seamless hand-over.

For many boards, the question is no longer whether succession planning is important, but whether it is credible under pressure. There are a few key checks that can help reveal whether a board’s plan will hold when it’s tested – or fall short when it’s most needed.

Own the Agenda: Why Succession Belongs to the Board

Provision 19 of the UK Corporate Governance Code makes the board itself responsible for leadership continuity, linking succession to long-term value and diversity. Harvard Business Review warns that a poorly handled CEO transition can erase years of shareholder value within days. In practice, I advise Chairs to embed succession planning on every quarterly agenda—alongside audit and risk—so that it becomes a visible, sustained commitment, not a file gathering dust in HR.

Interim CEOs Are a Signal—What Are They Telling Us?

Dr. Solange Charas recent Forbes article argues that a spike in interim appointments often reflects deeper governance gaps. Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. reports that interim leaders made up 18 per cent of all U.S. CEO changes in Q1 2025—a three-fold jump on the previous year. Interim roles can form part of a prudent plan; surprise interims usually mean the plan was missing. In my experience, when a board cannot immediately name a credible emergency successor, investors and employees sense uncertainty, and share price can wobble within hours of an unexpected departure.

Five Questions That Separate Prepared Boards from Hopeful Ones

Stanford University Graduate School of Business ‘ Corporate Governance Research Initiative shows that boards conducting annual pipeline reviews enjoy stronger post-succession performance. Directors should ask themselves a series of practical questions:

• When was the CEO succession plan last reviewed and formally signed off?
• Are named emergency successors visible and credible to both investors and employees?
• Does the current leadership profile align with where the company is going, not just where it has been?
• Are internal candidates being tracked and developed with direct board visibility?
• Does the nominations or governance committee hold explicit responsibility for overseeing the plan’s delivery?

The Financial Reporting Council’s guidance makes clear that committee ownership separates genuine readiness from mere box-ticking. If any answer is uncertain, the board is relying on hope rather than preparation.

What Good Looks Like: Succession as a Living Governance Discipline

Boards that embed a culture of readiness undertake annual succession fire-drills, often using tabletop exercises modelled on those recommended by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). These are simulated leadership transition scenarios designed to test the board’s response to an unexpected CEO departure. They typically involve cross-functional planning, legal briefings, and media strategy rehearsals to identify and correct weaknesses before a real crisis occurs. These simulations typically involve legal, communications and search advisers. They reveal timing gaps before real-world pressure mounts; according to Spencer Stuart ’s UK Board Index, organisations conducting such drills shorten decision cycles and inspire market confidence.

Equally important are integrated talent maps that cover both executive and non-executive pipelines. Increasingly, FTSE 350 boards are adopting this approach to gain a clearer view of their leadership bench and ensure continuity across all tiers of governance. Stanford GSB research indicates that boards using live dashboards instead of static, annual PDFs achieve markedly smoother transitions. When directors can see at a glance who is “ready now”, who needs development and where key skill gaps lie, the scramble is avoided.

Lastly, high-performing boards adopt criteria that weight culture and values alongside technical capability. SHRM estimates that a poor cultural fit can cost up to 60 per cent of annual salary in turnover and disruption costs. Henley Business School ’s Professor Andrew Kakabadse reminds us that “boards shape leaders long before they need them,” advocating scenario drills that stress-test potential successors in realistic conditions.

Beyond the CEO: Planning for the Chair and Committees

Effective succession planning isn’t confined to the C-suite. Henley research shows that lapses in Chair or committee succession can destabilise oversight as severely as a vacant CEO seat. A recent Reuters analysis contrasts BHP’s deep leadership bench with Rio Tinto’s scramble, highlighting the reputational premium that visible depth brings. Boards should apply the same rigour to mapping non-executive pipelines, staggering departures to preserve institutional memory while refreshing expertise.

Prepare Your Board for Unexpected Leadership Change

The Financial Reporting Council reminds companies that succession, diversity and board refreshment lie at the heart of market trust in UK governance. By rehearsing transitions, continuously mapping talent and treating culture as a potential deal-breaker rather than a tiebreaker, boards convert uncertainty into confidence – for investors, regulators and employees alike.

Succession planning reflects the board’s ability to maintain momentum, reinforce trust, and anticipate the leadership the organisation will need next. It is a strategic act that demands foresight, not just contingency. Done well, it becomes a quiet, stabilising force that no one notices until the moment it matters most.

Until next time, let’s keep raising the standard of boardroom readiness.

Erika