The Big Idea

You can’t stay in the role forever. Whether you’re planning to leave, scale up, or hand off part of the org, Level 10 is where you start answering a quiet question: What happens when you’re no longer here?

Succession isn’t an exit plan—it’s a test of your systems, your people, and your judgment. A well-run org should be able to survive your absence. A great one should be able to grow from it.

This is where your work becomes less about leading and more about building leaders who can lead without you.

You Know You’re Struggling When

• You’re still making key decisions no one else is comfortable making.
• There’s no one in the org who could take over your role, even temporarily.
• Your leadership pipeline is filled with good people—but no ready replacements.
• You can’t take real time off without something stalling or falling apart.
• The org looks like you, sounds like you, and depends on you.

If you disappeared for 30 days, would the company lose its direction—or find it?

Ideal State

You’ve shaped an org that doesn’t just rely on you—it reflects your best judgment at scale. You’ve developed leaders who have their own voice, and you’ve created systems that surface risk and guide decisions without your direct hand.

There’s a known succession plan. Not because you’re leaving—but because you’ve done the work to make the company stronger than any one person.

And if you did leave? The mission would carry on, with clarity and momentum.

Closing the Gap

1. Inventory your decision choke points. What still routes through you? Start handing those off—along with the context behind them.
2. Name your successor candidates. Not just one. Who could step in? What are they missing? What’s your plan to close that?
3. Institutionalize your judgment. Don’t just write playbooks—document how you think. Teach others to evaluate like you do.
4. Test the system. Take real time away. See where things break. Then fix the system, not the symptom.