Why is it important to plan for a leadership transition?

Leadership transition is a critically important time in the life of any organization. Leadership transitions create the opportunity for organizations to take stock of where they are and where they want to be in the future, and ultimately, to find the type of leader(s) that will help them get there.

If managed well, a leadership transition can inspire! Transition processes can spark new thinking and innovation, galvanize stakeholders, and propel organizations to achieve even greater impact.

We help nonprofits successfully navigate leadership transition and offer customized services that often include:

• A leadership transition planning retreat with board and staff members to launch the process;
• An assessment to better understand what kind of leadership is needed given the organization’s current stage of development and major trends in the field/sector;
• Promising practices research on different leadership structures and models;
• A leadership profile and job announcement;
• A salary compensation analysis;
• Tailored search activities with a focus on the social change sector;
• A communications strategy that instills confidence and engages diverse communities and stakeholders;
• Working with the outgoing leader to prepare a comprehensive leadership transition memorandum that can help guide the new leader;
• Interview question sets and interview rating criteria;
• Development of an onboarding plan for the new Executive Director (ED);
• Development of working agreements between the ED and board of directors to support effective planning, coordination, decision-making and achieve overall alignment;
• Helping the board to develop ED first year performance goals; and
• Coaching support to help the ED to develop a First 100 Days Plan.