Succession planning should start from the organisation's future direction rather than from today's roles and the people in them. Åza Skoog of Alumni Global argues for linking succession to strategy through scenarios, and for protecting the everyday learning that AI is changing. When Alumni Global asked 332 people in its network about their greatest succession challenges, 35 per cent said they lacked an established leadership pipeline.

Succession planning is no longer about replacing leaders; it is about ensuring future capability. At an Alumni Global panel moderated by Åza Skoog, Björn Axelsson of Sandvik, board chair Karin Eliasson, investor Sara Arildsson and psychologist Mattias Lowebrant of Alumni Global discussed how boards and leaders link succession to strategy, potential and culture.

In Alumni Global's recurring board evaluations of Nordic listed and private companies, succession management averages just above 4 on a 1–6 scale, while most other governance areas score around 5 or higher. With many senior leaders retiring at once and leadership pipelines thinning, Åza Skoog argues that the real challenge is deciding what kind of leadership the organisation will need next.

People make up the larger part of most company budgets, yet many organisations still do not ask what return that investment generates. Åza Skoog of Alumni Global argues that leaders should treat people as an asset to develop, use culture as a deliberate and measurable tool of business execution, and move the people agenda from HR into the boardroom, managed with the same rigour as financial KPIs.

In times of uncertainty, people tend to retreat into their own thinking and focus on what they can control. Åza Skoog of Alumni Global argues that leaders should do the opposite and build collaboration across the organisation. The article gives five ways to do it: active listening, an exploratory mindset, relational coordination across boundaries, telling problems from paradoxes, and a growth mindset.