Leadership Succession Planning

Most succession plans
identify the next leader.
AGL builds them.

AGL combines behavioral assessment, live 360 feedback, and dedicated coaching to develop the leaders in your succession pipeline, not just name them. The result is a bench that is actually ready when the moment comes.

Home / Succession Planning
The Problem

A list of names is not a succession plan.

Most organizations have a succession document. Very few have a succession program. There is a difference between knowing who might fill a role and having someone who is actually prepared to do it. The gap between those two things is where transitions go wrong.

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Succession plans built on opinion, not data

When succession decisions are based on manager perception and performance ratings alone, the picture is incomplete. High performers in their current role are not always ready for the next one. Behavioral data tells a different story than tenure and visibility.

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Successors identified but not developed

Most succession plans end at identification. The person is named, the document is filed, and development is left to chance. When the transition happens, the successor is no more ready than the day they were added to the list.

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No organizational view of the pipeline

Succession is treated as an individual question when it is also an organizational one. Leaders rarely step back to look at the full talent picture: who is ready now, who needs development, where the gaps are, and whether the pipeline is deep enough to absorb multiple transitions.

How AGL Works

Assessment, feedback, coaching, and organizational insight. All connected.

AGL's succession planning engagement works at two levels simultaneously: the individual and the organization. At the individual level, each person in the succession pool receives a behavioral assessment, a structured 360 live interview process, and dedicated coaching to build a personalized development plan. At the organizational level, AGL produces a consolidated talent picture for the sponsor and HR that shows the full bench, readiness levels, and development priorities across the pool.

The behavioral assessment is the foundation. It surfaces how each person is wired to lead, where their behavioral strengths align with the demands of the target role, and where development is needed before they step into it. Paired with live 360 interviews, which capture candid feedback from the people who work most closely with each successor, it produces a far more complete and actionable picture than any single data source can provide.

From those inputs, each leader builds a Leadership Acceleration Plan with their AGL coach. The plan is grounded in neuroscience, tied to specific behavioral data, and designed to drive real change through daily practice, not added workload. A sponsor alignment session closes the loop between the individual development plan and the organization's succession goals.

What sets this apart

Behavioral data, not just manager opinion. Assessment results tell you how someone is wired, not just how they are perceived.

Live 360 interviews, not surveys. Conversations produce richer, more honest feedback than rating scales.

Each successor receives dedicated coaching, not a report and a handshake. Development happens through the coaching, not before it.

The Leadership Acceleration Plan ties assessment and 360 data to specific, daily behavioral actions. It works within the leader's current role, not around it.

Organizational Analytics gives the sponsor a consolidated view of the full pipeline: who is ready, who is developing, and where the gaps are.

The Process

Individual development. Organizational clarity.

AGL's succession engagement runs in four phases, each building on the last. Every phase produces deliverables your organization can use immediately.

01
Foundation

Behavioral Assessment

Each person in the succession pool completes a behavioral assessment. The assessment is not a personality test or a self-report. It measures behavioral tendencies, motivations, and preferences across dimensions directly relevant to leadership effectiveness in the target role. AGL coaches certified in the assessment platform administer and interpret each report.

Each successor receives a 90-minute individual debrief with their AGL coach to review the results, understand implications for the next role, and identify where behavioral development is most needed. This session is the starting point for the coaching work that follows.

Behavioral Assessment Individual 90-Min Debrief Role Fit Analysis Development Priorities
02
Feedback

Live 360 Interviews

AGL conducts live interviews with up to eight stakeholders for each successor: peers, direct reports, and leaders above them. Live interviews surface candid, nuanced feedback that rating-scale surveys almost never produce. Interviewees share specific observations, not scores.

AGL synthesizes each set of interviews into a structured 360 summary report and delivers a debrief session with the successor. The debrief connects the 360 themes to the behavioral assessment findings, producing a unified picture of how the person leads and how they are experienced by the people around them.

Live Stakeholder Interviews 360 Summary Report 360 Debrief Session Integrated Findings
03
Development

Leadership Acceleration Plan

Assessment results and 360 feedback feed directly into each leader's Leadership Acceleration Plan, built with their AGL coach across two dedicated coaching sessions. The LAP is a two-page action plan grounded in the neuroscience of sustainable behavior change. It does not add to the leader's workload. It redirects their normal daily work toward the specific behavioral shifts that will close the gap between where they are and where the next role requires them to be.

Leadership Acceleration Plan

The LAP supports development in the 70 and 20 of the 70-20-10 Leadership Development Model. Actions are embedded in the leader's current role so development happens continuously, not only during coaching sessions.

Two Coaching Sessions Leadership Acceleration Plan Behavioral Action Steps Sponsor Alignment Meeting
04
Organizational View

Pipeline Analytics

While individual work is underway, AGL builds the organizational layer. Team-level Organizational Analytics across the full succession pool produce a consolidated picture of the bench: behavioral strengths and development gaps at the group level, readiness indicators by role, and Emerging Leader insights for the sponsor and HR leadership.

AGL delivers this view in a structured debrief with the sponsoring leader and HR. The session translates the data into decisions: who is closest to ready, where investment is most needed, and what the succession picture looks like over a 12 to 36 month horizon.

Team Organizational Analytics Emerging Leader Report Readiness Summary Sponsor and HR Debrief 12 to 36 Month Pipeline View
Who It's For

For organizations that cannot afford to get this wrong.

Succession planning matters most when the stakes are highest. These are the situations where AGL is most often called.

Senior Transitions

Planned executive or senior leader transitions in the next 1 to 3 years

When a key leader's departure is on the horizon, there is time to develop the successor properly. AGL builds that successor's readiness systematically so the transition is a handoff, not a crisis.

Bench Strength

Organizations building a deeper leadership pipeline proactively

Succession planning does not have to be tied to an imminent transition. Organizations that invest in pipeline depth before they need it are never caught scrambling. AGL helps identify and develop the next generation of leaders before the clock starts.

Growth and Scale

Fast-growing companies that are outpacing their internal leadership supply

When the business grows faster than the bench, something eventually breaks. AGL helps growing organizations assess their current talent, identify the gaps, and accelerate readiness for leaders who need to grow into larger roles quickly.

Common Questions

What you need to know about succession planning.

Get Started

Know who is next. Know they are ready.

Tell us about your succession challenge. We will respond within one business day. AGL serves organizations in Houston, across North America, and in 25+ countries worldwide.

We respond within one business day. No sales pressure.