How can you support employee development for career transitions and succession planning? - Identify and develop potential successors

Let me share a compelling insight I gained on nurturing potential successors. A while back, I collaborated with an organization eager to solidify its succession plan. Despite our reservations, they hastily released a key member assuming her potential successor desired the role. To our surprise, she didn't. In fact, she resigned merely a week after the departure of the senior team member. This left a critical position vacant with no successor in sight. From this experience, I learned a crucial lesson: the significance of securing buy-in from all involved parties. This anecdote underscores the importance of alignment and communication in succession planning.