It is one thing to advise clients on succession. It is another to live through the process yourself.
After eleven years serving as Managing Partner at Vantage, I have stepped down and Jacqueline Ackerman, Ph.D., has stepped into the role as the firm enters its 50th year. While I remain as a founding partner and will continue working with our clients and colleagues, executing on my own succession process has given me a new perspective on what this work means. I’ve now personally experienced it from both sides: I succeeded Carl Robinson over a decade ago, and now Jacki has succeeded me
At Vantage, we spend a great deal of time helping organizations think through leadership transitions. We guide leaders and boards through questions about readiness, leadership development, and what the future of the organization requires of its leaders.
Going through the process ourselves reinforced the principles we share with our clients, but it also reinforced how personal and nuanced these moments are. From knowing when to make the transition to all that comes before and after, experiencing a transition first-hand invites reflection on leadership, legacy, and the role you play in shaping what comes next.
Knowing When the Time Is Right
Leaders often ask how you know when it is time to make the transition out of the top leadership position. Often, the answer is less analytical than people expect.
Sometimes you simply reach a point where imagining someone else leading the organization’s future becomes more compelling than continuing to lead it yourself. That realization tends to emerge gradually as you reflect on what the organization needs next.
In many of the organizations we advise, the right moment often coincides with a few conditions coming together. The organization is strong enough to absorb a transition. A capable successor is emerging. And the next phase of the organization may benefit from a different kind of leadership energy.
In my case, those conditions were present. And there was also this truth: over the past decade, we had accomplished many of the things I hoped we would as a firm. We strengthened long-standing partnerships with clients, expanded our work with boards and executive teams, and continued building a culture that values both rigor and care for the people we work with, both clients and colleagues. Also, we have grown the business in most measures and, together, are leaving things better than we found them, which is a great goal for most any leader. As I looked back on my years as managing partner, I felt both a degree of pride as well as a sense of them being deeply meaningful to me.
At the same time, as I began thinking about Vantage’s next chapter, I found myself increasingly energized by the idea of Jacki leading that future. She is one of the very best at her consulting craft and is still very much on the ascent of her career; she is deeply committed to the firm, and uniquely well positioned to attract the next generation of talent. Seeing that possibility clearly made the decision easier.
Strong succession is rarely about stepping away from something that is failing. More often, it is about recognizing when new leadership energy will serve the organization best.
Planning the Transition
Start Earlier Than You Think You Need To
One of the most important lessons we share with clients is to begin succession conversations earlier than you think you need to. In our case, those conversations began several years before the transition itself.
That gave us the time and space to approach the transition thoughtfully rather than reactively, and it allowed the process to unfold at a pace where both of us could absorb and adjust to what it meant. It also gave us room to think carefully about what the role required and what the firm would need next.
Bring in Objective Perspective
We also chose to work with an external advisor to guide parts of the process. Even when leaders have strong relationships, succession conversations can feel personal. Having an objective perspective helped us test assumptions and created space for more candid discussions about readiness and the firm’s future.
Treat Succession as Development, Not Replacement
The goal was never to replicate my leadership. It was to prepare our next leader to bring her own strengths and perspective to the role.
Over time, Jacki participated in leadership assessments, coaching, and feedback conversations that helped enhance her readiness, clarify areas for growth, and internalize the expectations of the role. Some of those discussions were straightforward and practical. Others were more personal, which is often the case when leaders begin talking honestly about succession.
Maintain open and candid conversations.
Leadership transitions inevitably raise difficult questions; for example, what might be gained and what might be lost? Being able to talk about them openly builds trust between leaders and confidence across the organization.
These principles aren’t new. Experiencing succession personally has changed how deeply I now appreciate their importance.
The Personal Side of Succession
Leadership roles shape how we see ourselves, often more than we realize while we are in them. They influence how others interact with us, where we direct our attention, and how we measure our contribution. Stepping out of that role naturally creates space for reflection.
Over time, certain questions begin to surface. I found myself thinking about what I was most proud of from these years of leadership, what parts of the firm’s culture and identity I hoped would endure, and what my own contribution might look like in the next chapter. In essence, I was wondering about my legacy.
These are thoughts many leaders wrestle with privately while publicly continuing to show up and lead the organization. Experiencing them firsthand has made me more empathetic to the leaders we advise. Succession asks leaders to hold two truths at once: you want the organization to evolve and thrive beyond your leadership, while also recognizing that you are closing a chapter that has been personally meaningful to you. Learning to let go well requires embracing both, as well as a healthy dose of humility.
What Leaders Really Leave Behind
One concept that took on new weight over time is that leadership is stewardship, not ownership. Every leader eventually hands the organization to someone else (or at least, such is the hope of building a sustainable business). The only question is how thoughtfully that happens.
When leaders think about legacy, it is easy to focus on measurable outcomes such as growth or strategy during their tenure. Those achievements matter, but over time I have come to believe something else matters more.
The culture we build and the relationships we form with colleagues and clients, including the leadership capability we help develop in others along the way, have risen in my estimation as the legacy that matters most now that I’m on the other side of being managing partner. These are the elements that tend to endure far longer than any particular strategic decision.
Continuing the Work in a Different Way
Although I have stepped out of the Managing Partner role, my connection to the work and the people of Vantage remains. I will continue working closely with clients, supporting our partners, and contributing to the firm’s direction in new ways.
In many respects, this transition creates space for me to focus more deeply on the consulting and advisory work that brought me to Vantage in the first place.
Leadership transitions are not endings. They are evolutions. For leaders approaching similar moments in their own organizations, my advice is simple: begin the conversation earlier than you think you need to, approach the process with honesty and care, and remember that the ultimate goal is not preserving the past but preparing the organization to thrive in its future. Because one of the most important leadership acts is knowing how to “let go well”.