Picture this: Your business has just lost its commercial director. Panic sets in: who’s ready to step up?

A 2023 survey found that less than a quarter of companies feel truly confident about their succession plan for senior roles. If you work in technical consulting )or any business where people are the product) you’ve probably felt that scramble when a top biller or practice lead hands in their notice.

This post is for leaders in people-driven firms who want to build a real pipeline of practice heads, not just talk about it. We’ll show you simple, human-first steps to spot potential leaders early and help them thrive, so you avoid costly gaps, culture dips, or desperate outside hires.

Why Most Businesses Miss the Leadership Boat

For most, it feels easier (and cheaper) to let strong consultants keep billing, maybe with a “manager” badge bolted onto their email signature until, suddenly, someone leaves and you’re forced to scramble.

Here’s the catch: waiting until someone moves on (or outgrows their role) risks more than a lull in results. You lose momentum, knowledge, and often your team spirit. Research shows businesses that plan leadership moves early are dramatically more likely to have smooth, successful transitions when the time actually comes.

“Succession planning is boring, slow, and invisible—until suddenly it’s all that matters.”

There’s a Better Way: Start Early, Build Real Development, and Focus on People

The good news? Building your own next generation of commercial leaders is doable and it doesn’t mean creating a 10-page PowerPoint or sending everyone on a management course. It’s about:

• Spotting ambition and ability early (even before someone’s “ready”)
• Giving tailored development and proper opportunities to stretch
• Focusing on the human skills that actually matter day-to-day in leadership
• Creating a transparent progression path, so rising stars know what’s possible

Too often, companies rely on quick fixes (“just promote our top biller”), or obsess over rigid experience requirements instead of potential and soft skills. That’s a recipe for churn, morale dips, and “accidental” managers who never got a chance to learn the ropes.

Here’s how the smart ones do it

1. Start Succession Planning Sooner Than Feels Comfortable

Don’t wait for the resignation letter or the risk of burnout. Identify high performers (and even those quietly ambitious middle billers) who show both results and an interest in progressing. Have the honest chat, what might leadership look like for them, and what skills are missing right now? Early planning creates breathing room, so you can upskill and test readiness before the seat is empty.

Example: Some consultancies do quarterly “future leader” reviews with team leads. Anyone who wants to move up gets mapped against a list of real, specific skills, not just last quarter’s revenue.

2. Pin Down What “Ready for Leadership” ACTUALLY Looks Like

Top biller? Great, but what else? Define the key skills, values, and behaviours you need in a practice head. In most commercial roles, these include commercial awareness, resilience, a learning mindset, and the ability to bring people along for the ride. Leave room for different personalities, but be crystal clear about the non-negotiables.

Tip: Spell out the practical day-to-day, not just vague “people skills”, can they have tough conversations, handle pressure, and promote the values you want?

3. Create Targeted, Bite-Sized Development Paths

Don’t just offer generic “management” training. Identify the gaps, maybe it’s running client P&L, or coaching others rather than doing all the billing themselves. Build micro-learning routes, job shadowing, or mini-projects that let them try it safely. Make feedback regular and honest.

Example: Leading a quarterly team review, handling a tough negotiation while shadowed, or owning the onboarding of a new hire, these sorts of projects build confidence and prove readiness.

4. Make Motivation and Mindset Part of the Conversation

Skills are great, but if you don’t tap into what motivates your next generation, the whole process feels like homework. Spend real time understanding what fires them up. A desire to coach? Chasing commercial targets? Impact on clients? Find ways to align development with genuine motivators and keep people engaged.

Real Talk: Not every future leader needs to play golf with clients, maybe they’re more about nurturing the team. That’s valid, and worth building on.

5. Build a Culture That Encourages Honest Ambition

One reason promising consultants don’t progress is a culture where it feels risky to stick their hand up. Instead, create regular chances for consultants to share goals, ambitions, and areas where they want to grow (and, crucially, where they don’t). Make it normal to talk about the next step, not a secret club reserved for favourites.

Quick Win: Monthly one-to-ones about progression, not just performance, can radically boost retention and energy.

6. Give Real Opportunities and Visible Support

Mentoring, real-world stretch assignments, shadowing senior leaders, and mastermind groups all help build readiness and resilience (not just skills). Offer feedback that’s constructive. Celebrate progress publicly, people are more likely to step up if they know their growth is noticed, not just their “numbers.”

Example: A simple “talent cohort” can help: those identified as future leaders meet monthly to share learnings and challenges, making progress more visible (and less lonely).

But Won’t This Take People Off the Tools? Or Create Unwarranted Expectations?

These are fair concerns. Won’t extra development eat into revenue? Will everyone expect a promotion overnight? Here’s the truth:

• Development should be practical and woven into the day job, not just a series of offsite courses. You set the pace and priorities.
• Not everyone will make it to practice head, and that’s okay. Even those who don’t step up will perform better, and some will move on feeling valued, boosting your reputation as a people-first business.
• If you’re clear from the start about what’s needed and where the business is growing, you set healthy expectations.

It’s about transparency and honest, adult-to-adult conversations—not promising everyone a shiny new title.

Takeaways: Now’s the Time to Build Consistently Strong Leaders—Here’s Where to Start

1. Start mapping future needs before you’re desperate—The best leadership moves are quiet, seamless, and planned, not a knee-jerk after someone quits.
2. Define clear, practical leadership criteria. Make progression a real conversation, not a guessing game.
3. Invest in targeted, people-first development. It doesn’t have to be expensive or overwhelming, just consistent and honest.

If you’re feeling the pressure to build your next commercial lead, or you want fresh ideas to keep your team moving forward, we’re always here for a real chat.

Need help finding or developing your next practice head? Drop us a note, we’ll talk through your options, share what’s actually working, and help you keep your business thriving.