Leadership Succession Planning: A Key Issue for the Nursing Profession

Leadership succession planning in nursing is a fairly recent concept.¹ According to Redman,¹ although literature appeared from 2000 onwards, there is little research in the area. Part of the problem may be attributed to terminology in that nursing succession planning tends to overlap with leadership development, leadership transition planning, or workforce development.² This may be because nursing succession planning is considered to be a core leadership skill.³ Leadership succession planning, however, is recognized as central to both professional and organizational workforce planning and requires a strategic approach for the long-term future of nursing. “Leadership is about influencing what happens tomorrow today.”⁴ Part of this process requires certain attributes to exist, to create an environment, to achieve success. It is a means to ensure that competent, qualified, well-prepared people are available for future positions.⁵