Let’s be honest. The old model of leadership—you know, the top-down, command-and-control version—feels increasingly brittle. It’s like a straight line drawn in the sand, easily washed away by the next wave of change. What if, instead of a line, we thought of leadership as a circle? A continuous loop of growing, guiding, and gracefully passing the baton.

That’s the heart of circular leadership. It’s a mindset. A practice. It flips the script from “holding onto power” to “cultivating and circulating wisdom.” And at its core? Two deeply intertwined practices: authentic mentorship and proactive succession planning. They’re not separate HR checkboxes. They’re the living, breathing mechanisms that keep the leadership circle turning.

Why the Straight-Line Leadership Model is Breaking Down

We’ve all seen the stats—the “Great Resignation,” the “Silver Tsunami” of retiring boomers, the relentless pace of digital transformation. Organizations are facing a perfect storm of brain drain and skills gaps. Relying on a static org chart is a huge risk. When a leader leaves, it creates a vacuum. Panic sets in. A rushed, often external hire is made, and institutional knowledge just… evaporates.

Circular leadership directly counters this. It’s built on resilience. The goal isn’t just to fill a seat, but to continuously nurture a pool of capable, confident individuals ready to step up. It turns succession from a reactive crisis into a natural, ongoing process. Honestly, it’s just smarter business.

Mentorship: The Engine of the Circle

In a circular framework, mentorship isn’t a casual coffee chat. It’s the primary engine for growth and knowledge transfer. But we’re talking about a specific flavor of mentorship: less about giving answers, and more about asking powerful questions.

Shifting from Directive to Developmental Mentoring

Traditional mentoring can sometimes feel like a sage on a stage. Circular leadership prefers the “guide on the side.” It’s about creating a safe space for experimentation and reflection. A developmental mentor might say, “That’s a tough challenge. What are a couple of paths you see forward? What’s the potential upside and downside of each?” They’re building a thinker, not a follower.

This requires leaders to embrace vulnerability—to admit they don’t have all the answers either. That’s where the real trust is built. It humanizes leadership and makes the circle accessible.

Practical Steps to Embed Mentorship

• Formalize the Informal: Create a structured mentorship program, but allow mentor/mentee pairs to define their goals and rhythm. Mandated friendships don’t work, but supported connections do.
• Reverse & Peer Mentoring: Break the hierarchy. Encourage senior leaders to be mentored by junior staff on digital trends, for instance. Facilitate peer circles for shared problem-solving.
• Measure Impact Differently: Don’t just track meetings held. Look at mentee confidence scores, project leadership opportunities, and the flow of innovative ideas from program participants.

Succession Planning: The Intentional Completion of the Loop

If mentorship is the engine, succession planning is the steering wheel. It provides direction and intent. Too often, succession planning is a secretive process involving a few names in a locked spreadsheet. Circular leadership demands we blow that door wide open.

Transparency is key. When high-potential employees are identified—and better yet, understand they are—they’re more engaged. They can co-create their development journey. The message shifts from “You might be chosen someday” to “We are investing in you for what’s next, for all of us.”

Traditional Succession Planning	Circular Succession Planning
Secretive, HR-driven	Transparent, leader-driven
Focus on “replacement” for key roles	Focus on building a “bench” for multiple pathways
Event-driven (triggered by a departure)	Process-driven (continuous development)
Creates a competitive, anxious atmosphere	Fosters a collaborative, growth-oriented culture

Building a Living Leadership Pipeline

So, how do you make this real? Start with skills, not just titles. Map the core capabilities needed for future leadership—like digital fluency, emotional intelligence, and systems thinking. Then, use your mentorship engine to develop those skills across the organization.

Create “stretch assignments” and interim leadership opportunities. Let someone run a key meeting, lead a project, or represent the team in a senior forum. It’s like a practice scrimmage before the big game. It builds muscle memory and confidence. And it gives everyone else a glimpse of the emerging talent around them.

The Leader’s Mindset: From Gardener to Steward

This whole shift hinges on a leader’s self-concept. The circular leader sees themselves not as the sole, towering tree, but as a gardener and a steward. Their legacy isn’t measured by their personal achievements while in the role, but by the health and vitality of the garden they tend—and eventually leave.

It requires a certain self-awareness, even a touch of humility. Your job is to water, feed, prune, and then… make room for new growth. Your ultimate success is a team that thrives in your absence. That’s a powerful, and frankly, more sustainable source of professional pride.

Getting Started: No Need for a Perfect Revolution

This might feel big. Don’t try to overhaul everything at once. The beauty of a circle is that you can step into it at any point.

1. Initiate One Mentoring Conversation: This week, have a developmental chat with someone on your team. Ask, “What’s one skill you’d love to develop this quarter, and how can I help?”
2. Identify Two Potential Successors: For your own role, think of two people. Not to alarm them, but to consciously start investing in their growth. What experiences do they need?
3. Share Your Story: In a team meeting, talk about a mentor who helped you. Or a time you failed and learned. It models vulnerability and opens the door for others.

Well, there you have it. Circular leadership isn’t another management fad. It’s a return to an almost ancient principle: that we are here to learn, to contribute, and then to prepare the way for those who come after us. It weaves mentorship and succession planning into the daily fabric of work, creating an organization that doesn’t just survive transitions, but evolves through them.

In the end, the strongest structures aren’t rigid towers. They’re resilient ecosystems—interconnected, adaptive, and constantly renewing. That’s the promise of the circle. It has no end, and therefore, no real end point for the organization’s wisdom and capability. The work, and the leadership, just keep flowing.