How to tell whether your succession bench is real

Ask most boards whether they have a succession plan for the chief executive and the answer will be yes. Ask whether the named successor could take over next month, and the room often becomes quieter.

Five questions worth asking

• If our chief executive left tomorrow, who would we appoint for the next six months, and have we told them?
• Has each potential successor run something end to end, with profit and loss responsibility?
• Have they been tested in front of the board, or do we only know them through the chief executive?
• How do they compare with the best external candidates we could attract?
• What are we actively doing in the next twelve months to close their gaps?

Ready now, ready soon, ready later

A useful bench has people at each stage. One or two who could step in with support today. A handful who could be ready in two to three years with the right experience. A wider pool earlier in their careers. If every name sits in the same category, the bench is thinner than it looks.

Give successors real exposure

Internal candidates develop by doing, not by attending programmes. Rotations into unfamiliar functions, responsibility for a difficult turnaround, regular presentations to the board and time with investors or regulators are the experiences that build readiness.

Benchmark against the market

Even a strong internal candidate benefits from being compared with external talent. It either confirms the board's confidence or highlights gaps that can be addressed in good time. Done discreetly, it need not unsettle anyone.

A succession plan that has never been tested is a hope, not a plan.