What's your approach to succession planning and building bench strength?

Situation: At a fintech company, I managed a team where two senior engineers were the only ones who understood our core payment pipeline. Our bus factor was 2—if either left, we'd be in trouble. One had expressed interest in moving to a different org. I needed to build bench strength and reduce key-person risk without making people feel like they were being replaced.

Task: I needed to identify critical roles, develop potential successors, and document knowledge so the team could operate if key people left.

Action: I mapped critical knowledge areas and who owned them. For the payment pipeline, I identified a mid-level engineer who had the aptitude and interest. I gave them a stretch assignment: own a significant enhancement with the senior engineer as mentor. I also had the senior document the architecture, runbooks, and failure modes in a living doc. I created a lightweight succession plan: for each critical role, I had 1–2 potential successors and a development plan. I framed it as growth—"you're ready for more" not "we need a backup." When the senior engineer eventually moved to another team, the mid-level stepped up. We'd planned for it, so the transition was smooth.

Result: We had zero knowledge loss when the senior left. The mid-level was promoted within 6 months. The team's bus factor improved from 2 to 4. I learned that succession planning is an investment in people—it's about developing them for bigger roles, not just preparing for departures. And that documenting knowledge is a gift to the team, not a threat to the expert.