Cross-Sector Strategies in Diverse Organizations for Leadership Succession Practices

December 3, 2025

Cross-Sector Strategies in Diverse Organizations for Leadership Succession Practices

Alan G. Porter | 2025

Abstract

A lack of knowledge within the existing scholarship regarding leadership practices that cross-sector African American Pentecostal senior pastoral leaders employ to ensure succession in their organizations was examined through a qualitative descriptive research design. This study analyzed the cultural variables, religious factors, and strategies that impact African American Pentecostal senior pastors as the stakeholders develop volitional succession plans. The theory of administrative succession also guided the study. The researcher recruited a sample of eight African American Pentecostal senior pastors who participated in semistructured interviews. The data collected from these interviews were thematically analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2023) six-step analysis process for thematic analysis and assisted by NVivo Version 12 qualitative data analysis software. The analysis extracted themes that were clustered and addressed the research questions. The first research question was addressed by themes clustered across spiritual, cultural, relational, and practical dimensions of succession planning. The findings suggest that succession planning among African American Pentecostal senior leaders should incorporate governance through the complex interplay of spiritual discernment, cultural legacy, relational loyalty, and organizational foresight. The findings also established themes consistent with leadership transitions in the African American Pentecostal tradition shaped by a combination of spiritual convictions, cultural legacy, strategic preparation, and relational sensitivity. The findings revealed that succession planning in the African American Pentecostal tradition encompasses administrative, theological, cultural, emotional, and strategic aspects. Leaders who prioritize trust, spiritual alignment, planning, and emotional maturity create the conditions necessary for effective leadership transition and the sustained health of their ministries. The findings overall contribute to an expansion of the existing literature, providing valuable insights for African American Pentecostal pastors to enhance future leadership succession.

Keywords: succession planning, African American Pentecostal, leadership Cross-Sector Strategies in Diverse Organizations

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