It’s not surprising that nonprofit board members are timid about starting the succession planning conversation with their chief executives. There is the fear that raising the subject might suggest to the chief executive that the board thinks it is time for him or her to leave. There is also the fear that that they may…

In corporate settings, it is taken for granted that “strategic leadership development” is central to succession planning—they are constantly working on developing a pool of leaders who will be ready to run corporate divisions, tackle transformational projects, or become the next CEO. Smooth transitions and successful operations require building leaders across the organization and not…

When I first started consulting, I was asked on a couple of occasions to lead succession planning workshops for nonprofit leaders. Attendance at these sessions was disappointingly low, and rather than blame the low turn-out on the presenter, I suggested to the organizers that, “for some leaders, talking about succession planning can feel like planning…

More often than not, nonprofit board members think about succession planning only when it has already become transition planning—the organization’s chief executive has announced that she is departing or retiring and the board is in a state of panic. Given enough lead time (18-24 months) the board has time to engage in “departure defined” succession…

The phone call is often from a board member, and it usually begins this way: “We need help with succession planning.” However, what they actually want and how they have come to define “succession planning” usually takes some work to uncover. It could be they need help in developing a predictable succession of board officers….

For more than a decade, demographers and nonprofit experts have been sounding the alarm about an enormous wave of leadership retirements poised to sweep through the nonprofit sector as baby-boomers reach retirement age. This “wave” is sure to change, and is changing, the nonprofit leadership landscape, but how it impacts the sector will depend greatly…

My New Year’s resolution in 2005 was to step-down from my job as president of our region’s United Way. After 11 years in what I still describe as “the best real job I’ve ever had,” it definitely wasn’t an easy decision. I had too much regard for the organization, the people, and my community to…

Community based nonprofits function most effectively when they build a culture of shared leadership, where the development of new leaders on both the board and staff levels is ongoing. Since long term mission impact should be the goal of every nonprofit, it’s important to explicitly acknowledge that key board and staff leaders only serve the…