A growing number of colleges and boards of trustees are looking to the future by embracing succession planning as the key to assuring college sustainability in an environment that requires global thinking, strategic planning and political savvy. Once confined to the corporate world or to family businesses, and limited to the CEO, succession planning has assumed a prominent role in progressive and innovative community colleges concerned about leadership at all levels. These colleges, their leadership teams, and their governing boards view succession planning as targeted leadership development that promotes a culture of learning, growing, and collaboration within the institution. Succession planning is a process by which an organization assures necessary and appropriate leadership for the future through a talent pipeline with the capabilities of sustaining an institution's long-term goals. Colleges who genuinely commit to succession planning have the opportunity to create a dynamic roadmap to institutional sustainability while providing meaningful and targeted leadership development to motivated individuals. Boards, presidents, and senior leadership teams become more cognizant of the importance of developing leaders from within. Succession planning becomes a part of strategic planning, and leadership development is no longer peripheral to the institution but becomes integral to institutional effectiveness. Thoughtfully implemented at all levels, succession planning supports the teaching and learning mission of the college and provides effective leadership for a challenging future. Succession planning and targeted leadership development can help make America's community colleges work!