Building Your Leadership Pipeline from Within: How L&D Powers Strategic Succession Planning

Nov 3, 2025 | Articles, Digital Transformation, Guest Post, L&D Leadership & Culture

Key Takeaways:

  • Investing in internal leadership development builds a sustainable pipeline for future organizational success.
  • Diverse learning methods, such as mentoring, workshops, and rotational assignments, create well-rounded leaders prepared for complex challenges.
  • Aligning development programs with strategic goals transforms L&D into a driver of business growth.
  • Systematic identification and development of high-potential employees helps retain top talent and mitigate bias in succession planning.

Organizations face a critical decision with every leadership opening: develop talent internally or hire externally. With aging workforces, rapid technological advances, and flattening workplace hierarchies, the stakes have never been higher. The path forward demands strategic learning and development initiatives that identify, nurture, and prepare tomorrow’s leaders today.

Litmos, a Brandon Hall Group™ Smartchoice© Preferred Provider, recognizes that combating employee stagnation and disengagement through personalized upskilling and reskilling has become essential. To develop future-proof leaders, organizations must integrate adaptive, AI-powered learning into the flow of work now—not when leadership gaps emerge.

The Succession Planning Crisis

Brandon Hall Group™ research reveals a sobering reality: more than half of companies recognize serious gaps in succession planning, indicating a looming leadership crisis if left unaddressed. Only one-third of organizations have well-defined high-potential (HIPO) strategies in place, despite research demonstrating that organizations with mature HIPO programs consistently maintain stronger leadership benches.

The numbers tell the story: 77% of organizations identify improving succession planning as a critical priority, yet nearly half struggle with assessing leader readiness. This disconnect between recognition and action creates vulnerability at every leadership level.

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Why L&D Matters for Talent Succession Planning

Reducing the Costs and Risks of External Hiring

Every organization must decide whether to “build” or “buy” talent for key roles. External hiring carries significant risks—cultural misalignment, longer onboarding periods, and higher failure rates. As work continues to be transformed by AI, the simple truth is the talent may not be in the market. Research shows that organizations with strong internal development programs achieve remarkable results: One Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Award™ – winning company reported 100% retention of program participants, with 80% of participants defined as successors for senior roles. (Source: Brandon Hall Group™ Case Study Analysis)

Improving Targeted Talent Development

L&D possesses unique insight into the skills and competencies needed for future leadership roles. This knowledge enables strategic development of internal talent, significantly reducing both costs and risks associated with external hiring. When L&D aligns development programs with organizational strategy, the results speak for themselves. One organization saw 51% of their leadership program participants promoted within just nine months. (Source: Brandon Hall Group™ Case Study Analysis)

Access to Continuous Training Tools and Feedback Mechanisms

L&D departments have the tools and frameworks to continuously train and assess potential successors internally. This ensures future leaders are already well-versed in company culture, values, and institutional knowledge—advantages no external hire can match. With 85% of companies maintaining or increasing their leadership development budgets, organizations clearly recognize this value proposition.

L&D Best Practices for Talent Succession Planning

Start with Strategic Focus

Limit succession planning to strategic roles. Not every position requires internal succession planning. L&D should concentrate resources on developing successors for strategic roles where having the right internal candidate proves crucial for business continuity and success. This targeted approach maximizes impact while optimizing resource allocation.

Identify and Assess High-Potential Employees

L&D and HR must collaborate to identify employees who consistently outperform peers, exhibit leadership talent, and align with organizational values. Together, they can assess skill gaps and create targeted development plans.

Develop Beyond Current Expectations

Effective L&D involvement in succession planning involves preparing employees beyond their current skill sets to meet future leadership needs. This includes cultivating capabilities in automation, social responsibility, and inclusion—competencies critical for tomorrow’s success. Organizations must think beyond today’s requirements and develop leaders for challenges that don’t yet exist.

Create Personalized Development Pathways

Design personalized training programs that blend:

  • Executive coaching (used by 77% of organizations for leadership development)
  • On-the-job training with stretch assignments (utilized by 69% of companies)
  • Peer learning groups and cohort-based programs (employed by 67% of organizations)
  • Self-guided learning utilizing microlearning and gamification (adopted by 67% of companies)

This multi-modal approach accommodates diverse learning preferences while ensuring comprehensive skill development. (Source: Brandon Hall Group™ Case Study Analysis)

Foster Continuous Learning Culture

Both L&D and HR must promote a culture valuing continuous learning and leadership development. This ensures high-potential employees constantly upskill and reskill, staying ahead of evolving business demands. Organizations taking active steps to improve their leadership development programs understand this cultural imperative.

Implement Robust Measurement Systems

Regular evaluations assess progress and inform necessary adjustments to development plans. Leading organizations track multiple metrics:

  • Change in leader retention (monitored by 69% of organizations)
  • Percentage of leaders ready for next-level roles (tracked by 62%)
  • Change in leadership positions filled internally (measured by 53%)

These metrics provide tangible evidence of L&D’s impact on succession planning success. (Source: Brandon Hall Group™ Case Study Analysis)

Utilize Diverse Development Methods

Implement a mix of development approaches including workshops, seminars, mentoring programs, and rotational assignments. This variety provides high-potential employees with well-rounded development experiences that prepare them for complex leadership challenges.

Align Development with Organizational Strategy

Ensure development plans for high-potential employees align with strategic goals and future leadership needs. This alignment supports the ongoing transformation of L&D from a support function into a strategic business driver.

The Path Forward

Organizations that invest in systematic approaches to identifying, developing, and retaining critical talent assets build the leadership pipelines needed for sustainable success. The most effective programs balance technical excellence with leadership capability building, provide diverse experiences spanning functional boundaries, actively mitigate bias in talent decisions, and create compelling growth paths that inspire commitment from top talent.

Ready to transform your approach to leadership development and succession planning? Download the latest Litmos guide on building an L&D blueprint to navigate organizational change and discover how to create a comprehensive learning ecosystem that prepares your organization for whatever comes next.

The choice between making or buying talent becomes clear when L&D takes ownership of succession planning. By investing in internal development today, organizations secure their leadership pipeline for tomorrow—and beyond.

Learn practical approaches to skills-based talent strategies, responsible AI implementation, and creating inclusive learning environments that drive business results at Brandon Hall Group™’s Human Capital Management Excellence26® conference. Connect with award-winning organizations and industry experts to gain actionable insights for building tomorrow’s workforce today through cutting-edge leadership development and future-ready operational excellence.