Succession planning

Succession planning is the plan for a patrol, Court of Honour, Bridge Crew etc. Succession plans are fundamental to the functioning of any patrol system. A succession plan has many forms. It can be a written page with everyone’s ranks on, a verbal agreement or other. A written succession plan usually is the best. A succession plan needs to be well known, it can’t be a surprise that a patrol has a new Patrol Leader.

What Does A Good Succession Plan Look Like

A succession plan needs to consider many variables. But a succession plan ultimately should be a list of names within the patrol that with take after one another upon the time that they leave, whether this be they age out or just leave. A succession plan needs to be passed onto the relevant authority to be passed off. If you’re a Patrol or a Court of Honour then hand it to your Troop Scouter. Most importantly, the person who is about to go up a rank needs to be mentored in order to be competent enough for their replacement to be valid. For example the Patrol Leader needs to mentor his/her/their Assistant Patrol Leader in all scouting knowledge to ensure that it is not lost and can be carried through the generations of Patrol Leaders in their Patrol.