Kristi Huber
August 17, 2026
Even proactive planners feel unprepared for succession. Somehow, after all the planning, the succession process illuminates unfilled gaps and hurdles for people to stumble over. The question, often in tired frustration, starts to pop up: Should we have done this better?
The problem often isn’t in succession planning in and of itself. The problem is in the way people think about it in the first place.
There's a question I urge executives to ask regularly about any strategy: “Tell me how your team is talking about this,” followed by, “Tell me more.” Because what matters isn't what was said in the boardroom — it's what is being repeated in the hallways.
Succession deserves the same discipline. Not “Is there a plan?” once a year, but a recurring rhythm: How ready is each candidate now? What's changed in the role's demands? What knowledge is currently unprotected?
Don't listen for what you want to hear. Listen for the signal inside it — the part that tells you what's unclear, missing or misaligned.
A succession planning process that holds isn't a bigger document. It's four stages, revisited on a cadence:
Then act on what the rhythm surfaces: If what you hear is off, adjust it early. If what you hear is spot on, celebrate it and reinforce it.
Weekly is for strategy rollouts; succession runs on a longer cycle. But the principle transfers: revisit at key moments of change or pressure — a leader's expanded mandate, a reorganization, a market shift — not just at review time.
Either way, the board gains something a document can't provide: current, tested confidence in leadership continuity.
Turn your succession plan into succession readiness.
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After years of complex health insurance leadership, Kristi became dedicated to building up leaders facing the same challenges she did. She inspired leaders at forums across the country before forming Välv: leadership advisory firm bridging the gaps between a company’s strategy and their pathway to execution.
