A Succession Planning Guide
Every chair’s term ends. Some end on a date planned far in advance, some end when life gets busy, and for a few, their time as chair ends abruptly. For most, it will be after two to five years, while some chairs serve one-year terms and others stay in the role much longer.
Whenever it happens, the board keeps meeting and the organization keeps working. That’s why board chair succession and board chair transition should be part of your thinking well before your term ends. Good succession planning gives your successor the opportunity to step into the role prepared, informed, and ready to build on the work already underway, rather than having to start from scratch.
What you do as chair in the months, or even years, before your successor starts can make a significant difference. So, what are the practical things you can do to set up a strong transition? Here are some principles and specific steps you can put into practice.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to:
- Start board chair succession planning early
- Create a chair handbook
- Prepare the vice-chair and other potential successors
- Plan the handoff to the incoming chair
- Build a board culture that supports leadership succession
Start Your Board Chair Succession Plan Early
I once heard a new CEO speak about the surprising first task her board assigned to her when she started her role. It was to start building a succession plan. Their organization had had a few people in her role over the past couple of years and each time the transition was rough; hence, the desire for a good way to transition to a new CEO should it need to happen.
Your succession plan shouldn’t necessarily be the first thing you think of when you become chair, but it should be on your mind early. Right off the bat you can start by identifying things as you learn them that would have helped you when you started. Ideally there is a terms of reference or job description for the role that you can review, and if not, setting this up can be helpful to define the role and to build on it. Consider what you received when you started and whether it was adequate. Did you receive a package, file folder, binder, online drive access, or something else with information on the role and the board? Were there big questions you had that no one had the answer to? Were there people you wish you had known earlier? What went well and what didn’t in your own orientation process? Use this to help build some tools for the next person.
Build a Chair Handbook
Most of what a chair knows and does is undocumented. It lives in your inbox, your head, and your relationships. This is all easy to lose and harder to pass on. First of all, it is essential to set up a place to store key documents that you will want to pass on. Then you can develop a handful of tools, including
- Develop a workplan or calendar with key tasks across a year or multiple years, including recurring tasks and less frequent ones
- Include templates for whatever you help create, such as chair reports, meeting agendas, and policy templates
- Create a contact map for key stakeholders and partners
- Note info on decisions the board has already made that keep coming back up, points of frequent contention, conflict issues, and board history
- Any other tips, tools, or templates that you use that could help your successor.
Review and update this a couple of times a year.
Prepare the Vice-Chair and Future Board Leaders
Your board may already have a succession plan in place through a vice-chair role. On some boards, the vice-chair serves as a president-elect and will very likely become the next chair. On others, the role is less formal and does not necessarily mean that person will become chair. Either way, having someone who can potentially step into the role gives you an opportunity to prepare an incoming board chair well before the transition takes place.
The most valuable way to use the vice-chair is to involve them in your work as chair. Give them exposure to the responsibilities and decisions that come with board leadership rather than waiting until they officially take over. Invite them to meetings with the CEO. Review board agendas together. Keep them informed about your thinking, priorities, and activities. Talk through challenging issues, share the context behind difficult decisions, and seek their advice. The goal is not to have them simply observe your work but to gradually build their confidence, judgment, and understanding of the role.
This also gives you a chance to share institutional knowledge that may otherwise be difficult to transfer. Much of what a chair learns—relationships with key people, the history behind past decisions, recurring issues, and the nuances of board dynamics—isn’t written down anywhere. Sharing that knowledge with a potential incoming board chair over time is far more effective than trying to pass it all along in a few meetings after the election.
A strong chair also creates leadership opportunities for others around the board table. Use committees to share responsibility and develop leadership skills, and support committee chairs as they take on more responsibility. Pay attention to directors who demonstrate the judgment, engagement, and interest that could make them effective future leaders.
Finally, think beyond your own successor. Identify people who might be good candidates for the next vice-chair and encourage them to consider the opportunity. A healthy succession process creates a pipeline of board leaders rather than relying on one person to step into the role at the last minute.
The objective is to make the transition gradual enough that they already understand the board, the organization, the key relationships, and the issues they will inherit. That makes the eventual handoff smoother for everyone.
Create a Clear Handoff Plan
Once the new chair is elected, sit down with them and build a short timeline. This does not need to be elaborate, but it should exist, because good intentions between two busy volunteers rarely survive long. Depending on how much preparation you were able to do with the incoming chair prior to the election, here are some things to do:
- Give access to the dedicated email address and any admin accounts the chair controls
- Support agenda planning for the first couple of meetings
- Hold a shared meeting with the CEO to align expectations
- Review open issues, risks, and commitments
- Set a clear date after which they are the chair on every file, with no exceptions
- Shift into a past-chair role that is strictly advisory in nature
Board Chair Transition Checklist
- Email/admin access
- Agenda planning
- CEO meeting
- Open issues
- Risk Commitments
- Transfer date
- Past-chair role
- Key contacts
- Current strategic priorities
- Upcoming board decisions
- Important deadlines
- Current committee assignments
- Governance documents
- Sensitive issues
- Annual calendar
- Outstanding commitments
Build a Board Culture That Supports Succession
Succession is easier where the culture is healthy and directors are engaged. Boards where people speak up, take on work, and feel ownership over the agenda produce future chairs almost by accident. Boards where a few people do everything and the rest merely attend (if even) commonly produce succession crises. Focus on setting the right culture early and use a tool like Guru’s Rules to help.
The Bottom Line: Make the Chair Transition Part of Your Job
Planning your exit is part of the job of a chair. A thoughtful transition protects continuity, sets your successor up for success, and signals that leadership belongs to the office, not the person holding it. Chairs come and go but the board needs to continue and its strength is often directly correlated to the succession process for the new chair. Start early, empower potential successors, and get organized!
Board chair succession planning: FAQ
What is board chair succession planning?
Board chair succession planning is the process of preparing for a future change in board leadership. It involves identifying potential successors, developing future board leaders, documenting key information, and creating a transition process so the incoming board chair can take on the role with confidence and continuity.
When should a board chair start planning for succession?
Start early—ideally when you begin your term. You don’t need to spend your first months focused on leaving the role, but you should keep succession in mind throughout your tenure. Document what you learn, develop future leaders, and build the tools your successor will need.
What should be included in a board chair handbook?
A board chair handbook should contain the practical information a new chair needs to understand and perform the role. This might include an annual workplan or calendar, meeting and report templates, key contacts, governance documents, information about recurring issues and past decisions, and other tips or resources that would otherwise exist only in the outgoing chair’s head, inbox, or files.
How should an outgoing board chair prepare the incoming chair?
An outgoing chair should prepare the incoming board chair gradually rather than relying on a last-minute handoff. Share institutional knowledge, involve them in relevant meetings and discussions, review upcoming priorities and challenges, introduce key relationships, and give them access to the documents and tools they will need. Once they are elected, agree on a clear timeline for transferring responsibility.
What should be included in a board chair transition plan?
A board chair transition plan should identify the key steps and timing for transferring responsibility. It can include access to email and administrative accounts, upcoming meeting and agenda responsibilities, a meeting with the CEO, open issues and commitments, key relationships, important deadlines, and a clear date when the incoming chair assumes responsibility for all files.
What role should the vice-chair play in succession planning?
The vice-chair can be an important part of the board’s succession process, particularly when the role is intended to prepare someone for future board leadership. The chair can involve the vice-chair in meetings, agenda planning, challenging issues, and leadership discussions. This provides practical experience and helps transfer institutional knowledge before the transition occurs.
If you’ve missed the beginning of the Chair Series, you can catch up on the earlier articles. The series covers the practical realities of serving as a board chair, from getting started in the role to navigating the challenges and opportunities that come with board leadership. Each article builds on the others, so the earlier posts provide useful context for this discussion of succession planning and preparing for a strong transition.
Chair Series 1: The Chair of the Board
Chair Series 2: Running Effective Meetings
Chair Series 3: Engagement at Meetings
Chair Series 4: Working with the ED as Chair
Chair Series 5: Handling Conflict Around the Board Table
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