In life, work, and leadership succession, things rarely go to plan, and the ability to pivot during transitions differentiates those who capitalize on the moment from those who falter and retreat.

Regardless of your political stance or personal feelings about President Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign, these events are reminders of the vital importance of building resilience and discipline into your succession plans. Done poorly, leadership transitions seed fear and distraction; done well, they infuse fresh thinking, optimism, and energy into an organization (or a country).

Acknowledge the human element

The complex and emotional decision-making of the past few weeks no doubt took a significant toll on President Biden and his family. One of the great dilemmas of leadership is the need to display enough confidence and certainty to galvanize a wide range of stakeholders while possessing sufficient humility to pivot and adapt. Nowhere is this dilemma more present than in a leader’s self-assessment of when it’s time to step away. I’ve seen powerful and fearless leaders grapple on a deeply vulnerable level with the need to confront their own limitations and acknowledge when it’s time to move on.

When succession plans attend only to process and ignore the human dynamics, they eventually derail as unaddressed issues emerge. By contrast, when a leader is prepared, they can be fully engaged and objective in making the best decision for the future.

Make it a collective decision

With all the emotional and strategic complexity involved in transitions, it’s impossible to do it well alone. By all accounts, the weeks leading up to President Biden’s decision were filled with family retreats and closed-door sessions with trusted advisers. Boards of directors and chosen advisers are responsible for addressing the hard questions around an executive’s transition and driving an ongoing dialogue around timing—not at the moment of crisis but in an ongoing cadence.

In my work with first-time CEOs, one of the most frequent early observations they make is how isolating the role can be. Those around them are increasingly aligned and supportive and those outside have rare and limited access. For a group of advisers to be effective, they must possess and be given the authority and freedom to speak honestly and challenge assumptions.

As President Biden grappled with one of the most difficult decisions of his career, how many of those around him were telling him what he wanted to hear, and how many were saying what he needed to hear? To ask and answer the toughest questions around succession and timing, a leader must resist the tide of consensus, encourage dissent, and seek out opinions that disrupt and reshape their thinking.

Root in context and optionality

Determining the “right” time for transition is not just about the leader and their general fitness for duty; it’s also determined by the broader context and the demands it creates. Much like the notion of wartime and peacetime presidents, companies have discreet chapters that call for distinct leadership.

It’s critical to look beyond the person to determine what the situation requires before assessing if a leader continues to be the right one for the moment. Many who weighed in on a second Biden term focused on what he achieved in his first. The better question might have been, what needs to be achieved to win and deliver a second term, and who is the best person for the moment?

The strongest succession plans depend not on a sole anointed candidate or a fixed timeline but rather on a range of options that are dynamically tracked, developed, and evaluated. With this approach, as the time of transition nears, leaders can embrace their exits with the confidence that a viable plan is in place.

Instill organizational confidence in the next leaders

Vice President Harris’s rapid amassing of support was undoubtedly initiated by the president’s firmly expressed backing. One of the most critical roles a leader plays in their own transition is the unwavering advocacy for their successor. Humans and organizations alike thrive in predictability and certainty and wither in chaos.

A leader’s ability to step aside, suspend their own ego, and give space to their successor signals to the organization that there is little to fear and reason to be hopeful. The smoothest CEO successions I’ve experienced have all been characterized by thoughtful planning, balanced timing, and disciplined communication, leaving little space for confusion and fracturing.

Major life transitions are always challenging. Ones that impact thousands if not millions of people are infinitely more so. Doing succession well requires acknowledging that it’s both a very structured and a very human process. With no right answers or simple solutions, the best approaches navigate the delicate balance with discipline, humanity, and optionality.