Executive Transition Plan – Leadership, the main pillar of high performance, helps make your organization stronger.
More than a decade ago, Bridgespan Group Chairman and Co-Founder Tom Tierney predicted a shortage of nonprofit leaders as the sector grew and baby boomers retired. One consequence of this trend is the rise of CEO succession—a process that is often feared. It is also a process that many organizations are not prepared for. BoardSource’s 2017 National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices found that only 27% of nonprofit boards have a written leadership succession plan. But it doesn’t have to be like this.
Executive Transition Plan
We can’t claim to have all the answers, but learning from Community Leap Ambassadors members and other thought leaders provides valuable guidance for a successful and planned transition. With thought, planning, communication and time, a change in nonprofit leadership can be a positive experience for organizations of all sizes.
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Bob Rath, CEO of Our Piece of the Pie for 23 years, sparks conversation among Leap Ambassadors by sharing his personal succession journey with heartwarming honesty (see attachment). Her post asks Ken Berger, Chip Edelsberg, Linda Johanek, Bridget Laird, Amy Morgenstern, Lou Salza and Rick Wartzman to share their own stories and advice.
We summarize the insights below. But we’ll start this synthesis with encouraging words from Laird, the current CEO of WINGS for Kids: “When I went through the CEO succession process, I kept hearing negative things, which were usually, ‘Ugh, it’s like that. It’s a nightmare. bad.’ For me, it’s the opposite.
Succession planning is one of the most important tasks of any size nonprofit and is essential for high performance. Despite this, many places still do not prioritize this work. Morgenstern, a leader in nonprofit management and planning, shares:
“I have met boards that think that when they do succession planning, they signal that the current CEO has to leave and they don’t want to send the wrong message. In other cases, in order not to promote a change in leadership, they don’t do this management task. Having succession planning is an important high-performance board practice (even for current CEOs).Organizations should do this well before finalizing the current CEO’s departure date.
Day Plan: The North Star For A New Manager
Succession planning is not a one-time exercise or an annoying compliance item to check off a to-do list. The real purpose of succession planning is to ensure that the organization prepares for a leadership transition and builds an internal talent pool before the succession. The principles of the Performance Imperative Courageous, Adaptive Executive and Board Leadership pillars best describe:
“Executives and boards engage in succession planning for CEOs, board chairs and other senior management roles. Leaders are placed in challenging roles and prepare for greater responsibilities.
For example, one organization’s succession plan asks leaders to pledge additional responsibilities or special duties—some outside their comfort zone—to assess their ability to fill leadership roles. Before it’s time for a leadership change, the organization has insight into the capabilities of potential internal candidates.
A CEO who leads with the best of intentions may face the difficult decision to leave the organization. As Johanek, a member of the Leap support group who spent nine years as CEO of the Domestic Advocacy and Child Advocacy Center in Cleveland, OH, emphasized, “CEOs, especially long-time CEOs, need to know when it’s time to step out and make way for new visionaries.” “
Making A Smooth Transition Back To School
In 2015, Salza, then principal at Lawrence School, decided he was ready to retire in 2018. So he asked for guidance. He said, “I have a network of friends and good friends all over the country. There are colleagues who walk a few steps ahead of me on the escalator. I always ask, “What’s that for you? Does it work? Why can’t it? What advice can you follow? I am going into the next phase of my life with my eyes open. And I’m not worried about that.”
“My personal journey started 11 years ago and the biggest obstacle was rejection. I didn’t think I had to go. After overcoming this obstacle, which took many years, I got angry very quickly (I’m not usually an angry person). Then I waited spent some time haggling with myself and others about how this could be done, spent some time depressing it, and then accepted it.
“For me, accepting it is a clean situation with no regrets. After I got there two years ago [2015], I started a conversation with the chairman of our board, clearly defining the exit date and making a plan on how we will get there.
A successful transition—from the departing CEO’s first thought about leaving until the new CEO is in place and ready to lead—can take anywhere from six months to four years or more, depending on the complexity and size of the organization.
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Despite the generous six-month overlap with the outgoing CEO, Laird still wants more time. “I wish we had more time to navigate donor relationships. I’d love to see some thoughts on best practices for relationship management and handovers.
In retrospect, he believes: “The key to our success is time. This process is not rushed. It must have been about four years from the time the discussions started in earnest until the day the founder stopped.
Rath’s transition also allows for plenty of time. He said: “The general part of the succession timeline starts about nine months before exit, including a four-month cushion in the build-up. Milestones on our succession map include the announcement in January, the search process in February, candidate interviews in April and May, offers in June, and the selection of a successor in the organization in September.
Once the succession process has taken place, it is important that the organization tries to avoid another leadership transition (such as the chairman of the board) in order to maintain the stability of the organization. As a result, an important element of Rath’s succession plan is to “strengthen the leadership of the board for the transition period.” When Laird was promoted from COO to CEO, he and the founding CEO asked the board chairman for an additional term. Laird was initially appointed managing director for six months while the founding CEO remained. “During the time of the overlap, I envisioned [our outgoing CEO],” Laird said. “I go to every meeting and listen to the discussion. After every meeting, I can ask him questions and find out the “why” behind his decisions. He is very valuable to me and the organization.
Key Steps To Ensure A Successful Transition To
Make sure everyone knows who is responsible for the process and choose the right person (or people).
Rath outlined one approach: “I’m asking for a small board committee that we can talk to openly … The [advisor’s] role is critical during the 18-month period of private discussion.
An appointed leadership structure to manage the transition will help reduce anxiety among staff and stakeholders. And functionally, it allows organizations to think critically about the skills and characteristics of their next CEO. This group must create a road map, communication standards, and benchmarks, and continuously guide them toward these goals until the transition is complete.
Defining goals and outcomes for the transition period in detail will help preserve institutional knowledge and optimize the outgoing CEO’s time.
Succession Planning: A Dialogue For Leadership Continuity
To provide institutional knowledge during the last ten weeks of the transition, Johanek made a special effort to involve the interim CEO in various discussions and tasks. “I’m still the CEO and I have the authority to make decisions, but I know that the interim CEO has to live with the results. So in many meetings, I will say, “This is my opinion, but what do you want to do because you will make the decision alone?” he explained. “It’s a great process that allows for rich discussions. It was a process of letting go for me and a process of empowerment for her – an important part of the transition.
When Edelsberg decided to step down as executive director of the Jim Joseph Foundation, he used several meetings to achieve interim goals. “We bring [the CEO] into the office … I regularly discuss the transition with the board members, as I do anyway. You don’t want your board members to be surprised, even if it’s just a rumor. He and I meet with the strategic plan, board meeting agenda, governance documents , policies, employee performance reviews, etc. with the CEO of the main beneficiary of the Jim Joseph Foundation.
Sometimes significant overlap with the departing CEO is not possible. Still, CTC Academy Executive Director Berger, who has been CEO in and out, advises that for a short transition, “The board should be involved in developing a formal transition plan with action steps and metrics.
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