How many of us remember a time when our favorite leader announced his or her retirement?
It can be a lot to process among peers, your team and even the voice inside your head.
Where does the organization go from here?
Will we hire from within or outside the organization?
What does this mean for my team?
What does this mean for me?
Will I stay? …
In times of leadership transition, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes:
“Remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm and look forward to the future with confidence.” – St. John Paul II
Remembering the past with gratitude and living in the present with enthusiasm can be much easier for some of us.
But if we are being honest, how many of us look forward to the future with confidence during an uncertain time of leadership transition?
Confidence is defined as a strong feeling of trust, belief or certainty in yourself, other people or a plan.
Confidence not only applies to what employees are feeling during a leadership transition, but the business owners and decision makers who will influence the future of an organization based on who they select as the new leader.
For our firm, we are filled with gratitude, enthusiasm and confidence when a client entrusts a very important succession search into our care for a key retirement.
Succession searches represent approximately 25% of our executive recruiting work. We expect this will continue to grow in the coming years.
Over the past several months, it has been a season of succession searches for our firm. We recently placed a President (heavy equipment industry), Vice President of Manufacturing (commercial/industrial manufacturing industry) and Vice President of People & Culture (software-as-a-service higher education industry).
While each client, industry and leadership competencies are unique, there is one common theme: A clear vision to grow, a contagious culture and commitment to invest in a proven partner and process to confidently recruit and hire the right leader the first time. Many organizations have built a strong internal succession planning bench for key leaders to step into larger roles. This is something we celebrate and encourage. As Dan Heiman shared in Succession Planning Reimagined for 2026, preparing future leaders is ongoing work, not simply identifying a name when a role opens.
But sometimes, an organization finds itself lacking confidence and/or desiring to explore the broader talent market externally.
Here are three simple questions to assess if your organization is equipped to recruit its next leader internally or externally upon the announcement of a key leader’s retirement:
1) Are we confident we are aligned on what our next leader needs to accomplish?
Often, a respected, long-time leader leaves big shoes to fill. It is natural to look for someone with similar experience, competencies and even personality. But the business may need different capabilities for its next stage of growth.
An executive search partner can help owners, board members, and leadership teams articulate and navigate this question and establish a shared definition of success before meeting candidates.
2) Are we confident we have our internal successor identified, and how do we know?
An internal candidate may be the right choice. The key is understanding that person’s readiness, interest and development needs.
When the answer is less clear, an executive search firm can help assess internal candidates and, when appropriate, compare their capabilities with the broader market.
An objective, consistent and competitive evaluation process gives everyone a clearer basis for the decision and helps reduce the influence of familiarity or a strong first impression.
3) Are we confident in our ability to invest time and manage this transition process well?
Leadership transitions require thoughtful conversations, confidentiality, candidate assessment, and careful stewardship, all while the business continues to operate.
An executive search partner brings dedicated attention, focus and structure to that work. Starting early also creates room for the departing leader to transfer knowledge, introduce key relationships, and help the incoming leader successfully onboard.
If a retirement or succession decision is on your horizon in 4Q26 or 2027, we would welcome a conversation. It is always a privilege to honor what has been built and look forward to the future with confidence.
Kelly Kearney, Market President – KC
