impossible succession planning
Helloooo,
It’s Wednesday, I’m absolutely freezing, and Mariah Carey is about to take over the holiday season once again! 🎶
The new year is almost here, and Talent strategy has apparently become the hottest 2026 obsession.
HR has begged for a seat at the table for a long time, and instead got front-row tickets to a leadership panic spiral. 😵💫
Now it’s “Can you rebuild our entire talent pipeline, decode AI, fix succession planning, and also babysit these executives who are trying to quit??”
Anyway. The sass is strong this AM so grab your caffeine and let’s discuss.
The tea is hot, and the bar is low.
And real quick, if you haven’t filled out this industry events survey yet, would you do me a huge favor and complete it?
It’ll help me figure out where to do meetups next year!!! 🥳
🗞️ Here’s the Tea:Copy anchor linkCopied
💡 Talent strategy a top 2026 concern amid ‘a key moment for the CHRO’
The TL;DR: Succession planning, leadership pipelines, benefits, and the looming impact of AI are shaping 2026’s biggest headaches. With executives planning to jump ship at record rates, HR is being asked to stabilize the organization while also preparing for chaos. HOW FUN!!
My POV: This is the moment HR has been begging for and possibly dreading at the same time: the seat at the table is here, and the respect we DESERVE, but now everyone expects us to fix leadership turnover, redesign talent strategy, decode AI, and magically produce successors overnight! 🙃
If boards keep driving talent decisions without HR’s grounding in reality, it’s going to get messy FAST.
Pay attention to this shift, because the next year will determine whether HR becomes a strategic force…or a scapegoat when succession plans fall apart.
🎙️ Mic Drop Moment:Copy anchor linkCopied
“So much of work is overcomplicated. So much of this stuff is solved by just common sense and decency.”Copy anchor linkCopied
On the mic this week: Zach Nunn is the founder and CEO of Living Corporate, an experience management company laser-focused on building fair employee and customer experiences. With a background in HR, organizational change, consulting, and DEI strategy, he’s worked inside big firms and now helps orgs move from vibes to data when it comes to equity. Through podcasts, storytelling, and deep analytics, Zach pushes companies past performative allyship and into actual accountability.
Pin this:
- Leaders are not nearly as competent as we’re conditioned to believe, and employees see it.
- Performance management is one of the most structurally unfair systems in organizations, especially for black and brown women.
- Fairness at work is actually simple: people getting what they need to succeed, being heard, and being treated with respect.
- You cannot have a great customer experience if your employee experience is trash; the chicken will literally taste worse.
My H*ly Sh*t Moment: When Zach said that companies want stability, shareholder returns, and the illusion of sameness more than they want fairness, my brain short-circuited, because it explains every performative DEI statement, every ignored sentiment survey, and every leadership decision that prioritizes optics over people.
▶️ Press Play
📊 Data Is My Love Language:Copy anchor linkCopied
Stat: 99% of employers say recognition is critical, but nearly half admit they're falling short this season
My spiral: Sooo basically, leaders KNOW recognition matters, but somehow it’s still the first thing to fall off the plate when things get busy. Got it. 😬
When 99% of employers say recognition is essential but nearly half admit they can’t do it consistently, that’s a priorities issue.
And from an HR perspective, it’s maddening, because recognition is one of the cheapest, most high-impact tools we have to boost morale, loyalty, and retention!
If companies want happier teams without blowing up their budgets, this is literally the lowest-lift place to start!
🛠️ In Your Toolkit Copy anchor linkCopied
If you’re deciding what tools to use in 2026, here’s a truth: no tool matters if your performance process is still stuck in 1998.
And this time…I’m talking about the annual review!
It’s dead, it’s dusty, and it’s been holding teams back for years.
So this month’s HR Therapy is all about what replaces it, like real performance enablement, continuous feedback, and the role AI can play without turning us into robots.
Save a spot and join us on Dec 10th!
🗣️ UNMUTE YOURSELF
Sometimes the real blocker is the version of ourselves we bring into a room.
We sand down our edges, we soften the truth, and then wonder why nothing actually changes.
So before your next meeting, ask yourself this:
“What would you say in the meeting…if you weren’t filtering yourself?”
🛠️ TRY THIS TOMORROW:
Some of the most powerful shifts in a team come just from disrupting the default, rather than adding more to it.
If you want clarity, accountability, and (maybe) a little honesty without the drama, try this tomorrow:
“End a meeting by having everyone name one thing they’ll stop doing.”
👂 OVERHEARD IN SAFE SPACE
Nothing screams strategic leadership like wasting everyone’s time in the name of attendance! We’ve all been there, unfortunately.
Read what members had to say here.
A FEW MORE SLEEPS UNTIL FRIDAY.
SEE U THERE.
