Succession Planning in Local Government: Preparing the Next Generation of Leaders
Succession planning in local government can easily get pushed down the priority list. There is always an immediate issue to solve, a position to fill, a budget to manage, or a community need demanding attention.
But when a longtime department director announces a retirement, or a key leader leaves unexpectedly, the question quickly becomes: Who is ready to step up?
If the answer isn’t clear, the organization may already be behind.
Why Succession Planning Matters
Leadership transitions are inevitable. The challenge for local governments is making sure those transitions don’t create unnecessary disruption.
When experienced leaders leave, organizations can lose more than a person. They can lose institutional knowledge, established relationships, historical context, and years of experience navigating the organization and community.
At the same time, employees who could become strong future leaders may not have had enough opportunities to prepare for what’s next.
Our 2025 State of Local Government Leadership Pipeline Studyâ„¢ reinforced just how important it is for local governments to think intentionally about the strength of their leadership pipelines.
So, where can organizations start?
1. Identify the Roles That Create the Greatest Risk
Not every vacancy will affect an organization in the same way.
Look at the positions where a departure would create the greatest disruption. Which roles hold significant institutional knowledge? Which would be especially difficult to fill? Where would a vacancy put additional pressure on an already stretched team?
Knowing where the greatest risks are gives you a much more practical place to begin.
2. Look for Potential, Not Just the Next Person in Line
The employee with the longest tenure isn’t automatically the person best prepared to lead.
Pay attention to people who show good judgment, adaptability, curiosity, strong communication, and an ability to work well across teams.
This also means having conversations with employees about where they want to grow. Succession planning works better when development is based on both organizational needs and individual potential.
3. Give Emerging Leaders a Chance to Lead
Leadership development shouldn’t begin after someone receives a promotion.
Give promising employees opportunities to lead projects, participate in higher-level discussions, work across departments, solve unfamiliar problems, and receive meaningful feedback.
Formal leadership development, mentoring, and coaching can support that growth, but so can the experiences employees have in their day-to-day work.
The goal is to give people opportunities to practice leadership before they’re asked to take on the full responsibility of a leadership role.
4. Don’t Let Institutional Knowledge Walk Out the Door
Consider what an experienced department head knows after 15 or 20 years with an organization. Much of that knowledge may never appear in a procedure manual.
Mentoring, job shadowing, cross-training, documented processes, and intentional transition conversations can help transfer some of that knowledge before a departure happens.
This doesn’t mean preparing someone to become an exact copy of the person leaving. Future leaders will bring their own strengths and perspectives. They simply shouldn’t have to start from zero.
5. Keep the Conversation Going
A succession plan created once and filed away isn’t particularly useful.
People leave. Priorities change. Employees develop. New roles become critical.
Make leadership pipeline discussions part of regular workforce planning. Who is developing? Where are the gaps? What experiences do emerging leaders still need?
Those conversations make succession planning an ongoing leadership practice rather than an emergency response to the next resignation or retirement.
Preparing Before You Need to
Strong succession planning gives local governments something incredibly valuable: time.
Time to develop people, to transfer knowledge, and identify gaps. And time to make thoughtful leadership decisions rather than reactive ones.
You may not know exactly when your next leadership transition will happen. You can know whether your organization is preparing for it.
Ready to Strengthen Your Leadership Pipeline?
Government Leadership Solutions works with local government organizations on succession planning, leadership development, and executive coaching designed around their specific workforce needs.
If you’re thinking about upcoming retirements, leadership gaps, or how to better prepare emerging leaders, we’d be glad to talk through what you’re seeing and where to start.
Contact our team to schedule a consultation.
