Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

Talk to your boss now, and have them mentor you to learn what you'll need to replace them. Also, talk to their boss, and start learning about their deeper needs for the marketing department: what problems do they have that aren't being solved? Start on the path to learning what are the tougher problems and research ways to get the answers.

How do you know that this person will leave in 2 years? How do you know you will still be employed next month, let alone 2 years from now? Answer: you don't know. How can you? So much depends on so many other things over which you, in reality, have little control.

Really, you cannot "ensure" anything and realistically, you need to begin looking out for "Number 1" by making connections outside your company, by building your reputation as a change agent, and by positioning yourself as a thought leader and a natural "go to" person.

You need to do this for YOU, not for the company you work for. These days, companies can dismiss employees on a whim, on some cost cutting or performance "excuse", or for any one of a dozen reasons so from this point of view, your loyalty might be misplaced. When employees can be laid off at any time and for little reason, do employees really owe their employers anything other than doing the best they can while they're still employed? When (or if) the times comes for a new person to take on your boss's role, your boss's boss can look any any candidate he or she pleases, regardless of anything you think you can do to make yourself indispensable. Whatever you do, temper it with as much realism as possible. The truth is that no one owes you the role your current boss occupies.

The best thing you can do is build your personal brand. Determine how you want to be perceived (by your boss's boss, or by any prospective employer), and begin to consistently reinforce your key positioning benefit as if you were marketing a branded product or service.

Building on what Jay said I would also start targeting those your boss currently works with on a regular basis. What types of projects are they involved in and how does your boss integrate into those projects. I spent a lot of time doing informational interviews with the people I would be working with before I got my current job. Also, who will be weighing in on the hiring decision? Is it more than just the director's boss? Building a connection to each one of these individuals will put you much farther ahead than the competition (assuming you also deliver results in your own work of course). In the end many people are risk averse and thus willing to make the choice that has the best balance of reward and low risk.