Succession Planning for Cooperatives: Building Future Leaders

Last Updated on August 12, 2026 by Hannah Seeley

Every co-op needs strong leaders, but they won’t appear overnight. So, what’s the best way to build the next generation of co-op leaders? Cooperatives invest in succession planning through:

1. Proactive strategy
2. Building a pipeline of leaders, from interns and middle-market managers to future executives
3. Planning for staff and board roles, not just executive replacements
4. Intentional training programs and leadership development

Leadership changes are inevitable in any cooperative, but that doesn’t mean they have to catch you off guard. Whether a CEO retires after decades of service or a longtime board director decides not to seek another term, every leadership change affects the co-op’s future. That’s why succession planning for cooperatives is so important.

With the right strategy, you won’t react to vacancies as they happen, but identify future leaders and build a talent pipeline long before you actually need to fill critical positions. Even if you’re strapped for resources, cooperative succession planning – and the right tools – will make it easier to plan for the future. Learn why succession planning is a must for all co-ops, plus actionable tips to build your talent pipeline.

What Succession Planning Means for Co-ops

With succession planning, you prepare for changes in leadership before someone actually retires or resigns. It’s a structured process that:

• Identifies critical roles
• Develops future leaders
• Creates a clear plan for developing leaders

Cooperative succession planning involves nurturing several groups, including:

• Executive leadership: Filling CEO and general manager roles is no small task. Because the board hires and oversees the chief executive, it also owns the succession planning process for these roles. Boards have to consider which skills they need to hire for and whether internal candidates are being developed.
• Staff: Even in a small co-op, key employees have years’ worth of institutional knowledge. Without a plan for documenting that knowledge, you risk losing a lot of information when employees eventually leave. Strong succession planning encourages cooperatives to cross-train employees and document critical information before it disappears.
• Board leaders: Members elect the board, so succession planning looks a little different here. Still, your co-op can build a healthy pipeline of qualified candidates by engaging with up-and-coming leaders and even with previously unsuccessful election candidates.

Why Co-ops Need Succession Planning Right Now

Without succession planning in place, you risk disrupting operations and delaying big decisions, not to mention the possibility of losing member confidence. A lot of other factors make succession planning for cooperatives more important today than ever before.

Leadership Transitions Are Coming

Even if you have long-serving executives, staff, and board members, they can’t serve forever. According to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, 6.5% of cooperative employees are already eligible to retire, and that number is projected to grow to 16.6% – roughly one in six employees – over the next five years.

This wave of incoming retirements will create more gaps in your co-op. Waiting until someone announces their retirement just doesn’t give you enough time to identify a successor and transfer responsibilities, so proactive succession planning is a must.

That’s something that longtime Survey & Ballot Systems client, People’s Energy Cooperative, is already planning for. Before Gwen Stevens became its CEO in January 2026, a more senior colleague had encouraged her to consider the role – and it was just the push she needed to pursue executive leadership. Stevens saw the importance of mentorship firsthand, which is why People’s Energy is now developing a more formal workforce plan to identify and nurture employees with leadership potential.

Necessary Skills Are Evolving

Succession planning isn’t just about replacing one person with another. It’s also an opportunity to think about the skills your cooperative will need in the future. As leadership roles open up, boards have a chance to evaluate whether future leaders need different expertise than their predecessors.

For example, the skills needed in 2002 look very different from what’s required in 2026 and beyond. Tech skills are a must-have today, but they were less important in past decades. We can’t tell what the next five years will hold for your cooperative, but thoughtful succession planning can help you identify the skills that matter most.

Preserve Institutional Knowledge

Some of the most valuable knowledge in a cooperative isn’t written down. Your leaders and staff have know-how built on years of hands-on experience. That institutional knowledge takes decades to build, but you can lose it all with the departure of just one employee. Succession planning helps you document critical processes that these employees understand and preserve their expertise for the next generation of leaders.

4 Strategies for Succession Planning for Cooperatives

Succession planning is a constant process, so don’t expect your strategy to be perfect at first. It requires ongoing conversations and a commitment to developing future leaders. Every co-op has its quirks, but these strategies will help you create a succession plan that keeps your organization moving forward.

1. Move Away From Reactively Filling Vacancies

You can’t start succession planning when your CEO announces their retirement. At that point, the timeline is way too short to identify and transition a successor.

Instead, succession planning for cooperatives should be an ongoing process that’s built into regular leadership and governance discussions. Instead of asking, “Who can fill this role right now?” boards should be asking, “Who could be ready to lead three to five years from now, and how do we help them get there?”

That’s why every cooperative needs a succession planning strategy, not just a replacement plan. With this approach, you:

1. Identify promising leaders early
2. Create development opportunities, like committee membership, shadowing, internships, and leadership development events
3. Give future leaders time to build their expertise before you have a vacancy

2. Build a Pipeline of Diverse Leaders

Succession planning works best when it focuses on developing many future leaders, not on identifying a single heir apparent. Picking one person for a future role risks putting all of your eggs in one basket, not to mention risking the perception of favoritism. The better option is to build a years-long pipeline that develops many leaders, even if you have only a few leadership roles available right now.

3. Plan for Staff and Board Roles

Cooperatives have limited resources, so it’s understandable if you’re mostly concerned about succession planning for executive roles. But that’s just one part of the picture. You also need to consider developing people for staff and board roles. After all, finding qualified, engaged board members can be just as hard as hiring talented CEOs.

One way to do this is to encourage strong candidates to run for board seats, even if an experienced director expects to be re-elected. Competitive elections give members meaningful choices while also introducing future leaders to the group. Candidates who aren’t elected this year could be excellent directors in the future, especially if they get more visibility and experience after an election.

You can also develop staff and board candidates by inviting them to:

• Shadow current board directors to better understand governance responsibilities
• Attend cooperative meetings, educational programs, and industry events
• Serve on committees or task forces where they can learn and grow

4. Grow Talent With Intentional Training

Don’t expect future leaders to train themselves: offer plenty of hands-on learning opportunities so they can get experience before they’re in a role. That means investing in:

• Documenting knowledge: The gold standard is to document all standard operating procedures (SOPs) and processes, but co-ops don’t always have time to document everything. Instead, look for processes that just one person is responsible for. Documentation protects you if a specialized employee suddenly leaves the co-op and helps you build a training manual for future leaders. Of course, you have to keep this documentation current for it to be useful, so remember to update it at least once a year.
• Leadership test drives: If you can, give high-potential candidates the chance to test-drive leadership positions. Temporary assignments, like serving as an interim COO, give future leaders practical experience.
• Leaders at every stage: You need a way to develop leaders’ technical and soft skills over time. Make a plan for internship and early-career programs alongside opportunities for mid-career employees. Soft skills coaching and leadership training are valuable at all levels, too.

Streamline Succession Planning with Nomination Software

Having a succession planning strategy in place will stabilize your co-op’s future, but managing this process isn’t always easy. Manually managing leadership pipelines and nominations in spreadsheets or paper forms takes time and energy your team doesn’t have. With Survey & Ballot Systems’ online nomination software, cooperatives can create a streamlined experience for both administrators and prospective candidates.

Spot Qualified Candidates Faster

An online nomination portal allows members to self-nominate or nominate others for leadership roles in just a few clicks. Instead of searching for forms or wondering where to send materials, candidates access a dedicated website with everything they need in one place.

Survey & Ballot Systems works with your cooperative to build and manage that website, so your staff doesn’t have to create or maintain the technology themselves. Throughout the project, SBS experts oversee the process and are available by phone, email, and chat if you ever have any questions.

Collect Important Information With Zero Admin Burden

There’s no need to juggle emails or spreadsheets. With SBS, your cooperative collects all candidate information in one secure system. Candidates can submit:

• Professional biographies
• Qualifications and experience
• Statements of interest
• Committee preferences

Because the platform is fully customizable, you define the application requirements that make sense for your organization. For example, candidates applying for a board seat might answer additional governance-related questions, while committee volunteers complete a shorter application.

Build Tomorrow’s Leadership Pipeline

One of the biggest advantages of digital nomination software is that you don’t lose candidate information after an election ends. The SBS platform preserves that data for you, giving you a ready-made database of people who are interested in leadership roles.

Instead of treating unsuccessful candidates as missed opportunities, you can maintain a searchable database of previous applicants. You never know: someone who wasn’t elected this year may be an excellent candidate for a committee appointment or leadership training opportunity next year.

Prepare Your Co-op for What’s Next

Leadership changes might be inevitable, but disruption isn’t. Instead of acting only when there’s a vacancy, invest in your people now and build leadership pipelines for the future. Instead of letting promising leaders slip through the cracks, cooperatives can build a stronger pipeline for future boards, committees, and staff leadership.

The right succession planning strategy for cooperatives makes a difference, but only with the right tools. See how Survey & Ballot Systems’ customizable nomination software can help you build a stronger leadership pipeline. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

What can we do if a leader exits the co-op suddenly?

In this case, you need an emergency succession plan. Ideally, this plan should be developed in advance so you can take action ASAP, but that isn’t always possible. If a co-op leader suddenly leaves, you need to identify who will temporarily take over their duties. You should also look for important documentation and plan for how to communicate the leadership change with the co-op. After things stabilize, you can make a more formal plan for electing a permanent leader.

How often should a cooperative update its succession plan?

You should review it at least once a year, or whenever there are major changes at your organization. However, it can be hard to stay on top of these reviews, especially at a small co-op. Create a succession planning committee and add these annual reviews to your calendar to keep your plans up to date.

How do we encourage more members to run for board positions?

Communication is a great place to start. Clearly explain what directors do, the time commitment involved, and the impact they can have on the cooperative. Current board members can also encourage members with potential to get involved through committees or mentorship opportunities. From there, it’s always a good idea to simplify the nomination process so interested candidates aren’t discouraged by administrative red tape.

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