In the world of nonprofit leadership, one truth remains constant: every leader will eventually transition out of their role. Yet despite this inevitability, many organizations delay succession planning until it’s too late. This waiting game represents the single greatest risk to organizational stability and mission continuity. The Cost of Reactive Planning When nonprofits wait until […]
Read More… from Why Waiting Is the Biggest Risk in Nonprofit Succession Planning
The relationship between a nonprofit board and its Executive Director (ED) is one of the most critical partnerships in the organization. When this relationship thrives, the entire organization benefits. When it falters, even the most well-intentioned nonprofits struggle to fulfill their missions. Understanding how to effectively support your ED isn’t just good governance—it’s essential to […]
Read More… from Supporting Your Executive Director: What Boards Need to Know
Losing a long-standing leader brings a host of unique challenges that many organizations are unprepared to face. When a long-term nonprofit leader leaves that person is typically beloved by the staff, creating a hole emotionally as well as functionally.Sometimes this person is the original founder, other times they aren’t but they’ve been in the role […]
Read More… from What to Expect when a Long-Term Nonprofit Leader Leaves
In our line of work, we talk to nonprofit leaders every day that are making career moves. Some are entering executive leadership roles for the first time after putting in their time on boards or in mid-level managerial roles. Some are seasoned nonprofit leaders that are making lateral moves from the helm of one organization […]
Read More… from The 10 Things Every New Executive Director Needs to Succeed
For over two years one of the most popular articles on our blog has been about helping staff through planned leadership transitions. It likely comes as no surprise to anyone that nonprofit leaders are often concerned with how to best prepare their organization for success after they leave, so they are eager to find resources on […]
Read More… from Helping Staff through Unplanned Leadership Transitions
Congrats, you have a new Executive Director! Now it’s time to set them up for success!Successfully navigating an executive leadership transition is one of the board’s most important jobs. It’s a big lift to find the organization’s next inspiring leader, and it’s important to celebrate the hiring milestone. But, as much as we may wish […]
As a nonprofit director or manager, how do you know when you’re ready to step into an executive leadership role? Our team of nonprofit leaders regularly uses their experience to help nonprofit career professionals answer this question as part of our board advisory work and interim executive leadership engagements. We act as mentors during nonprofit leadership transitions when the […]
Read More… from Are You Ready to Step into a Nonprofit Leadership Role?
Every day we work with organizations that are in transition. Some have already lost their Executive Director, while others are in the process of losing leaders that have been instrumental in their growth over the years. Regardless of when they bring us in, each organization is facing the same fundamental questions: “What do we do […]
Read More… from Why Nonprofit Succession Planning Often Fails
Should your organization have centralized leadership or use a distributed leadership model? With all the buzz today around distributed leadership for nonprofits (also known as “shared leadership” or “co-leadership”), it’s easy to get caught up in the trend without fully analyzing the needs and implications associated with this kind of leadership model. But while distributed leadership may work well […]
Read More… from How to Select the Right Nonprofit Leadership Model
Congratulations, Nonprofit Board of Directors! You’ve hired your next Executive Director. It’s been a whirlwind from the time your outgoing ED announced their departure 6 months ago to the signed acceptance letter from the new ED. There’s no doubt you feel you can now breathe easier and step back since the new leader starts soon, […]
Read More… from How to do Nonprofit Leadership Transition Well