Is your company prepared to lose a key leader?

When it comes to business succession, it is common to think about the departure of a founder or partner. But the risk may be much closer: a director, manager, leader, or specialist who holds knowledge, client relationships, or important decisions can leave the company at any moment.

The question is simple: if one of these people left today, would the company know who could take over tomorrow?

For organizational psychologist Carolina Gama, who has worked with career and succession programs since 2004 in multinationals and companies of different sizes, many organizations only realize their dependence on certain individuals when they need to replace them.

“Having someone in an important position does not mean having succession prepared. The first step is to identify the truly critical positions for the business, map possible successors, and assess who is ready, who may be prepared in the medium term, and what skills still need to be developed.”

Succession is also risk management

A structured career and succession program allows the company to identify critical positions, talents, potential successors, and development gaps before a departure turns into urgency.

In addition to reducing risks, the process helps build career prospects, develop and retain talent, and form a pipeline of future leadership. " A company should not find out who is indispensable on the day that person resigns. Succession is anticipation,” says Carolina.

When the founder is involved, the challenge increases.  In family businesses, for example, succession requires even more care. Wealth, family relationships, management, and emotional issues can intertwine. There  is still a fundamental distinction: being an heir does not necessarily mean being prepared to be a manager.

In these cases, the process needs to prepare not only those who take over but also those who leave the command, defining responsibilities, autonomy, governance, and the gradual transfer of knowledge and decision-making power.

“After more than 22 years working with career and succession, I see that the best transitions are those that start when there is still no crisis. When the company anticipates, it can develop people, test successors, and make decisions with much more confidence,” highlights Carolina.

For the organizational psychologist, three questions help quickly reveal the level of exposure of an organization: Which people or positions would be missed immediately if they left today?  Who is prepared to replace them?  And what leadership will the company need in the coming years?

If these answers are still not clear, there is probably a succession risk that the organization has not yet mapped.  “Succession does not start when someone decides to leave. It starts when the company decides that its continuity cannot depend on a single person,” concludes Carolina Gama.

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