When law firm leaders think about succession planning, they often get stuck waiting for the “perfect” moment to begin. But succession readiness isn’t about perfect preparation—it’s about something much simpler and more personal.
The Readiness Myth That Keeps Leaders Stuck
Most accomplished attorneys spend years “getting ready” for succession planning. They’re building systems, evaluating potential successors, and creating detailed transition timelines. Yet they never actually start the process.
Why? Because they’re waiting for a version of “ready” that doesn’t exist.
They think readiness means having bulletproof answers to every possible question. Perfect succession plans with guaranteed outcomes. Zero risk of things not going exactly as planned.
Here’s the reality: if that’s your definition of ready, you’ll spend the next decade preparing instead of actually transitioning.
What True Succession Readiness Actually Involves
Real succession readiness isn’t about tactical perfection. It’s about three fundamental shifts that successful law firm leaders make:
From Protection to Exploration: Ready leaders spend more energy imagining what’s possible than worrying about what could go wrong. They’ve moved from asking “How do I protect what I’ve built?” to “What becomes possible if I build it differently?”
From Perfect Plans to Adaptive Leadership: Ready leaders trust their judgment more than their checklists. They understand that succession plans don’t unfold exactly as designed, but they also know they’ve successfully navigated thousands of unexpected business situations. Their ability to make good decisions under pressure doesn’t disappear during succession planning.
From Internal Analysis to External Conversation: Ready leaders are willing to have the conversations they’ve been avoiding. With potential successors about their vision.
With family about what this transition means.
With clients about how the firm will serve them.
With themselves about what they actually want next.
The Real Assessment Question
When lawyers ask how to evaluate their succession readiness, the answer isn’t a 47-point tactical checklist. It’s one simple question: “Are you more interested in protecting what you’ve built or exploring what comes next?”
Both concerns are legitimate. But only one creates forward momentum.
The Identity Challenge Behind Succession Planning
The biggest obstacle to succession readiness isn’t systems or successors—it’s identity. For decades, your professional value has been tied to being indispensable. Succession planning asks you to become dispensable by design.
That feels like a loss until you understand what you’re actually building: instead of your value being contained in your daily presence, it gets embedded in systems, relationships, and culture that multiply your impact.
The Permission You’re Actually Waiting For
Most managing partners discover they weren’t waiting to be more ready. They were waiting for permission to want something different. Permission to imagine their firm thriving without constant oversight. Permission to pursue interests they’ve been delaying.
That permission isn’t something you earn through perfect preparation. It’s something you give yourself.
Moving Beyond Preparation to Action
What if you’re already more ready than you think? What if the gap between where you are and where you need to be isn’t as wide as you’ve imagined?
Most successful succession transitions don’t start with perfect plans. They start with experienced leaders who decide they’re tired of waiting for certainty that will never come.
For the complete framework on assessing your succession readiness—including the three specific questions that reveal where you actually stand—read the full analysis in Beyond the Practice Grind: The Three Questions That Reveal Whether You’re Actually Ready
Next week, I’ll be releasing a comprehensive Succession Readiness Assessment to help law firm leaders move from wondering to knowing where they stand. Stay tuned.
