With 2027 around the corner, HR leaders are thinking about how to prepare their organizations for the year ahead.
And when it comes to succession planning, there's more to consider than who might step into the next leadership role. It's also about preparing emerging talent and experienced leaders to take on new responsibilities and more critical roles.
Leadership roles are evolving alongside technology, workforce expectations, and changing business priorities. And while we can't predict exactly what the coming year will bring, recent research offers some useful clues about where organizations should focus their attention.
From changing leadership capabilities to gaps in successor readiness, here are three trends worth watching as we head into 2027.
Think about what was expected of leaders five years ago compared to today. The fundamentals still matter: good judgment, strong communication, and the ability to bring people together. But the environments in which leaders apply those skills are constantly changing.
According to Gartner, 60% of HR leaders agree that leadership needs are evolving faster than development programs can keep pace. As expectations change, organizations face a growing challenge: ensuring the people they're developing today have the capabilities they'll need to lead tomorrow.
Meanwhile, DDI's newly released Global Leadership Forecast 2027 found that only 17% of leaders feel confident anticipating and responding to change.
This raises an important consideration for succession planning.
A high-performing leader today may have potential, but are they developing the capabilities they'll need to succeed in a more senior or critical role tomorrow? As technology reshapes how organizations operate, qualities like adaptability, strategic thinking, and the ability to lead through uncertainty are becoming increasingly important.
For HR leaders, this presents an opportunity to revisit how leadership readiness is defined and assessed. What will success look like in your organization's most critical roles two or three years from now? And are potential successors getting the experience and development opportunities they need to prepare?
Readiness needs to evolve alongside the roles we're preparing people to fill.
Having potential successors identified is an important step. But how many would actually be ready to step into a key role if needed tomorrow?
According to DDI's 2025 HR Insights Report, 75% of organizations prioritize internal promotion for leadership roles. Yet only 20% of HR leaders say they have leaders ready to fill many or almost all of their critical leadership roles.
That's a significant disconnect, particularly for organizations investing in developing and promoting talent from within.
And it highlights something important: successor coverage doesn't necessarily tell the whole story about leadership readiness. An organization might have multiple candidates identified for a key role, but if each still needs substantial development, the organization remains exposed to leadership risk.
Heading into 2027, organizations have an opportunity to look more closely at the strength of their leadership pipelines. That means understanding who could step into key roles, how ready those individuals are, and what development is needed to help them progress. It also means keeping business leaders involved in assessing readiness and creating opportunities for future leaders to gain the experience they need.
The more visibility organizations have into these gaps, the better positioned they'll be to address them before a leadership transition becomes urgent.
HR plays an important role in shaping an organization's long-term success. From identifying and developing future leaders to preparing for critical leadership transitions, the decisions HR helps guide directly influence business continuity and an organization's readiness for the future.
And as organizations navigate changing business priorities, that strategic role is becoming increasingly important. In its recently published 2027 CHRO priorities, Gartner highlights growing expectations for HR leaders to support productivity and growth while helping organizations minimize risk.
For succession planning, this presents an opportunity to bring leadership readiness into broader business conversations. Consider the difference between knowing how many key roles have potential successors and understanding which successors are ready, where leadership continuity risks exist, and what development is needed to close those gaps.
These insights can help inform decisions about talent development, resource allocation, and business continuity. And when HR and business leaders share responsibility for assessing readiness and keeping succession plans moving forward, they can make more informed decisions that strengthen leadership pipelines and support broader business goals.
As we gear up for 2027, preparing future leaders will remain an important priority for HR teams, especially as leadership expectations and business needs continue to evolve.
While the challenges facing HR will change, the fundamentals of effective succession planning remain the same: identifying critical roles, assessing successor readiness, investing in development, and keeping leadership risks visible.
At SuccessionHR, we believe succession planning should be an ongoing, collaborative effort, with clear accountability and a shared understanding of how future leaders are progressing.
As you plan for the year ahead, consider what skills your future leaders will need, how readiness is progressing across your leadership pipeline, and where you can continue building on the work already underway.
