Here’s a Story, of a Nonprofit without a Succession Plan

Here’s a story the story of a nonprofit.

Who has had the same executive director for the past 20 years

She’s a strong leader, almost a wonder-woman
And then she announced her retirement at the end of the fiscal year.

It’s the story, of a freaked out board

Who didn’t think the ED would retire anytime soon

They were a group, who didn’t think about succession planning

And now, they don’t know what to do

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Don’t let this parody of the Brady Bunch song be your organization. Life happens and institutional leaders come and institutional leaders go. You need to make sure your nonprofit has a plan for when this happens (whether it’s a planned departure and for when it’s not).

Scary Stats

Over 50 percent of not-for-profit leaders, specifically Executive Directors or CEOs, are expected to leave their positions within the next five years. Unfortunately, only 15 percent of organizations have a succession and leadership transition plan. To ensure that an organization maintains its social impact, it is necessary for not-for-profits to develop succession and transition plans. Well developed plans provide new organizational leaders with the training and support needed to succeed.

NFP succession planning should be a structured process to ensure that you are developing your organization’s talent pool so that they can become effective leaders within your organization.. When done effectively, succession planning will increase your organization’s long-term stability and sustainability. This is because you were proactive in identifying and developing emerging leaders who are already committed to your mission.

There are two types of succession plans: Departure Defined and Emergency.

A Departure-Defined succession plan ensures continuous coverage of executive duties, critical to the ongoing operations and organization’s sustainability, when an executive plans and has set a date of departure. This plan allows the current executive to share their expertise with the successor while simultaneously preparing the organization and departing executive to fully support the new leader.

An Emergency succession plan is a process that is in place in the event the institutional leader suddenly departs – either permanently or for an extended period of time.

Succession planning needs to be a collaborative process between the board, the current institutional leader, and key staff. Ideally, the plan should be completed and adopted in advance of any departures. Remember, your organization’s success plan will help to create a strong foundation for a successful organizational leadership transition.

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