What if we celebrated succession like we celebrate the seasons?

So many social impact roles – especially volunteer – rely on people who’ve held things together far longer than they ever planned.

But long-term change needs healthy cycles, so we can:

• step in with new energy and ideas
• step up to take the lead
• step alongside to pass on what we’ve learnt

…and then step back feeling valued, and confident the mahi will carry on.

The idea of ‘leadership seasons’ isn’t new – I’ve seen it applied to CEOs, business cycles, and social movements.

But it has huge potential to normalise succession planning in the impact sector by flipping the narrative on what often feels hard to talk about.

Because we can either choose to embrace and plan for change, or wait until it’s desperately needed – hurting our people and the kaupapa.

A new year is a great time to check in, notice where we are in the cycle, and plan for what change might be needed.

Use the images and pātai below to normalise succession conversations with your team: