Succession planning, as we have seen, is a large undertaking, and creating a plan involves:

• Access to people at different levels of the organization.
• Access and coordination with functions of Human Resources.

You have almost enough knowledge to get started on developing a succession plan, or being a valuable member of an existing team in your workplace.

To keep your list from getting too long, try to restrict yourself to five items. Write them as a SPIRIT goal and be sure to put your follow-up date directly into your calendar.

If you’re having difficulty choosing where to start, review these questions:

• Do you know the extent of progress the current succession plan in your workplace has made?
• Who are the members of the succession plan committee?
• Who is coordinating the development aspects of the plan?
• Who is responsible for following up on benchmarks?