Core Strategy #5 Develop Board And Staff Succession Plans

In an earlier post, I listed 10 key strategies that need consideration in the strategic plans of nonprofit organizations. The first strategy described in that post is “Embed capacity building into the fabric of your nonprofit". The second strategy is to "Build an exceptional board". The third strategy discussed in my last post is to engage in accelerated strategic thinking and planning. The fourth strategy is to "Forge partnerships, alliances and mergers to increase mission impact and sustainability".

The fifth strategy is to develop board and staff succession plans. A change in executive leadership is one of the most important and challenging opportunities a nonprofit will face. These executive leadership transitions have become more common. According research compiled by the Annie E Casey Foundation, leadership transitions from the Baby Boom generation to Generations X and Y will become more common within the nonprofit sector. Owing to these demographic and other factors, the number of executive director jobs that will turn over is therefore expected to increase. The recession has put off retirement for many older executive directors, at least for a while. But retirement or career moves by executive directors aren't the only cause for concern. Sudden absences due to illness, accidents or death also put many nonprofits at risk. Many nonprofits are highly dependent on their executive directors. If there were an unplanned absence, the organization would continue to exist without her or his presence, but very likely experience some significant setbacks.

The problem is that many nonprofits don't have succession plans in place; even more nonprofits have not begun to think about succession in an organized manner. A nonprofit organization's strategic planning process can present a golden opportunity to finally respond to this critical issue. The good news: over the last several years many excellent resources have become available. Some of the most important work has been done by The Bridgespan Group in Boston and Compass Point Nonprofit Services in the Bay Area. The Annie E Casey Foundation has published a series of monographs on all aspects of succession planning and executive transition available at no charge at their website. One of the most important, "Stepping Up, Staying Engaged: Succession Planning and Executive Transition Management for Nonprofit Boards of Directors" is geared to boards of directors who have an important governance responsibility to lead on this critical issue.

Another valuable resource is Executive Transition Initiative Succession Planning Toolkit. The Toolkit was developed by the Milwaukee-based Executive Transition Institute (ETI) directed by Mindy Lubar Price, CEO of LeadingTransitions. The ETI is a collaborative effort of the Donors Forum of Wisconsin, the Brico Fund, the Davis Family Foundation, and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. The Toolkit consists of four manuals

· #1 Overview of Succession Planning

· #2 Departure Defined Transition Toolkit

· #3 Emergency Succession Planning Toolkit

· #4 Strategic Leadership Development Toolkit

Now for many of the same reasons, there needs to be a leadership succession plan for the board of directors as well. There are not as many resources available to help with board succession planning but here is an excellent one to consider:

· Succession Planning with Your Board with links to a number of worksheets and tools prepared by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Strategic Planning and Succession Planning

Merianne Liteman, in her article “The Board’s Role in Succession Planning” makes some important connections between strategic planning and effective executive transition. While her primary audience is arts organizations, her advice is helpful for any nonprofit. She writes:

"A plan for transition to new leadership can’t emerge fully grown … . For leadership transitions to succeed, they must be consistent with and, indeed, grow out of the organization’s core strategy—its vision, mission, and values—as well as a clear understanding of its current status. This strategy is best expressed through a formal plan, which takes into account where the organization has been, where it is now, and where it wants to go. With a thoughtful and up-to-date strategic plan in place, an organization has a solid platform from which to launch a successful transition effort. Without such a plan, any succession effort it undertakes will rest on quicksand."

She goes on to say:

"A current strategic plan is essential for a smooth transition. The process of creating a strategic plan—or of reexamining and updating an existing one—offers an arts organization the chance to take a critical look at itself, reconsider its vision, assess its strengths and potential challenges, explore opportunities for growth, rethink its policies in line with current realities, and address issues that are critical for its future."

Sometimes nonprofit boards will leave this kind of strategic decision-making up to the new executive director. And this why some executive transitions end up as disasters. Liteman says that it’s a real mistake for organizations to assume that the new director is the one who should come up with the answers:

"Addressing these questions up front will yield dividends when the board makes critical decisions about the skills and competencies a potential successor should possess. Sometimes boards decide to leave such questions for the new director to address once he or she arrives. Bad idea; that’s like asking the pilot to decide on a destination after all the passengers are seated."

The succession plan may or may not be part of the nonprofit’s formal strategic plan. If not, it still needs to align with the strategic plan as Merianne Liteman points out. To download a copy of the article, go to: http://www.artsalliance.org/docs/al21c/book_sectionCch6.pdf.

Here are some links to resources on succession planning and executive transition. You can use these to educate board and staff leadership on this critical challenge as part of the effort to gear up for strategic planning or succession planning – or both.
• The Texas Commission on the Arts has compiled a number of leadership transition resources at http://www.arts.state.tx.us/toolkit/leadershiptransitions.
• TransitionGuides, a consulting and educational services company specializing in executive transition at http://www.transitionguides.com/about/about.htm.
• Leading Transitions, a firm specializing in providing technical assistance in the areas of executive transition management and succession planning at http://leadingtransitions.com.
• Compass Point Nonprofit Services provides access to research and articles on executive transitions, as well as templates for emergency succession plans and interim executive director job descriptions at http://www.compasspoint.org/content/index.php?pid=150