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Community resources
Weekly Wonder: Handing Off Leadership - Succession Planning for Sustainable CUGs
As a Company User Group (CUG) leader, you’re often the glue that holds your community together. But what happens when you move teams, take parental leave, or simply need a break?
Sustainable CUGs don’t rely on a single champion; they’re designed to outlast any one person. Succession planning is how you protect the momentum you’ve built, reduce burnout, and give others a chance to grow.
This week’s Weekly Wonder focuses on practical ways to hand off leadership smoothly so your CUG can thrive for the long term. Below are five tips to help you plan for leadership transitions with intention and confidence.
1. Start succession planning before you think you “need” it
The best time to plan for a leadership transition is when things are going well, not when you’re already overwhelmed or preparing to leave. Early planning gives everyone time to test roles, build confidence, and iterate on what works.
Begin by asking yourself: “If I had to step away for three months starting next week, what would break?” Use that thought exercise to identify gaps in ownership, documentation, or skills.
Then, share openly with your group (and your manager or sponsor, if you have one) that you’re intentionally building leadership resilience, not stepping back right away. This reframes succession planning as a sign of maturity, not disengagement.
2. Define clear leadership roles and expectations
Handing off leadership is far easier when others know what, exactly, they’re signing up for. Instead of a vague “co-lead” title, break the work into specific, named responsibilities such as:
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Program Lead – Owns overall vision, alignment with org goals, and stakeholder relationships.
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Meeting Host/Facilitator – Welcomes attendees, guides the agenda, and manages time.
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Content & Speakers Lead – Curates topics, coordinates presenters, and gathers feedback on sessions.
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Communications & Promotion Lead – Manages announcements, reminders, and internal visibility.
Document these roles in a simple charter or Confluence page, and include time expectations (e.g., ~2–3 hours per month).
Clarity helps potential successors evaluate whether they can commit, and it makes leadership transitions less personal and more about roles the group needs filled.
3. Create visible on-ramps for emerging leaders
Future leaders rarely appear out of nowhere; they usually start as engaged participants.
Make it easy for members to “try on” leadership in low-risk ways that build toward succession. For example:
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Invite volunteers to run icebreakers or share a 5-minute “spark” use case.
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Ask a curious attendee to co-host Q&A or monitor chat during a session.
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Offer short-term opportunities like owning a single meeting, a mini-series, or a themed month.
After someone tests a smaller role, follow up with a 1:1 conversation: “You did a great job hosting! Have you ever considered a more ongoing leadership role in the CUG?”
Explicit invitations, tied to specific strengths you’ve observed, are often the catalyst people need to step forward.
4. Practice “shared leadership” long before the handoff
Succession planning isn’t just naming “who’s next” - it’s gradually shifting how leadership shows up in your day-to-day operations.
Instead of one person doing everything behind the scenes, bring others into the core rhythms of running the group.
Consider:
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Co-building agendas in a shared Confluence page.
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Rotating who kicks off meetings, introduces speakers, or closes with next steps.
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Pairing a newer co-lead with an experienced leader for a few meetings (“shadow and then lead”).
This “apprenticeship” approach ensures successors understand not just what you do, but how and why you do it.
By the time a formal transition happens, members are already accustomed to hearing multiple voices and seeing leadership as a team sport, not a solo act.
5. Plan a thoughtful transition moment (and mark the milestone)
When it’s time to fully hand off leadership, treat it as an intentional moment rather than a quiet background change.
A visible, well-communicated transition builds trust and continuity for members, and it honors the contributions of both outgoing and incoming leaders.
You might:
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Announce the transition in a meeting and in your internal channels, clearly naming new leaders and their roles.
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Share a short “handoff story”: why now, what will stay the same, and what new leaders are excited to bring.
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Celebrate outgoing leaders with gratitude—callouts in the meeting, a thank-you note from your sponsor, or a short highlight reel of their impact.
Cap off the transition by clarifying how members can reach the new leadership team, and reaffirm that the CUG remains a shared space for learning, experimentation, and collaboration across the organization.
Succession planning is ultimately about stewardship: ensuring your CUG continues to create value for your organization long after any single leader has moved on.
By starting early, clarifying roles, inviting emerging leaders, sharing responsibility, and marking transitions intentionally, you’ll set your group up for sustainable success and reduce the pressure on yourself along the way.
How are you thinking about leadership transitions in your CUG today? Have you tried any of these approaches or discovered others that work well for your organization? We’d love to hear your experiences and ideas in the comments below.
Helpful Resources
Here are core resources you can lean on as you build your CUG leadership bench and overall program:
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Atlassian Community – Connect with other leaders, ask questions, and see how others run their groups
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Atlassian Learning – Training and learning paths you can reference or promote through your CUG to help volunteers and co-leads deepen their Atlassian skills
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Atlassian Team Playbook – Plays you can adapt for leadership development and CUG sessions (e.g., roles & responsibilities, working agreements, retros)
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Blake Hall
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