Are you Engaged in Succession Planning? |
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For many nonprofits, a leadership transition represents a time of uncertainty. When a key position becomes unexpectedly vacant, staff may find it difficult to fill the void and work towards the mission suffers. The same can be true even when a transition is expected, such as with a retirement, if the organization doesn't have a plan in place to ensure business continuity before, during, and after the search for a replacement.
In this issue, we take a look at succession planning: what it is, why it matters for your nonprofit, and what you can learn from those who have done it well.
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Julie Roe Lach, Commissioner, Horizon League |
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Jon LeCrone, Advisor to the Commissioner, Horizon League |
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This month, we’re featuring two noteworthy executives who worked together to make a succession plan come to life and guide a seamless transition. We've used their advice in our latest article Successful Succession: 4 Tips for a Seamless Transition. Get a quick background on Roe Lach and LeCrone here.
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After 29 years as Commissioner of the Horizon League, LeCrone knew that the success he’d built through decades of service couldn’t be handed off to just anyone. So, he planned ahead, searching for his prospective successor years before retirement. “I had in mind that we needed a person in our office that could eventually become the commissioner if we were serious about our succession plan,” LeCrone explained.
Although he intended to serve several more years as commissioner, he had already been scoping out candidates to train as his successor.
One person truly caught his attention. Julie Roe Lach, a high-profile leader with a long list of accomplishments, had worked for the NCAA for 15 years before becoming a consultant. When their paths crossed at a conference in California in January 2014, LeCrone asked Roe Lach if they could meet for lunch once they were both back in Indiana. Unbeknownst to her, Horizon League was restaffing, and LeCrone was thinking about succession.
“I asked her at that first lunch if she’d be interested in being the next Commissioner,” recalled LeCrone. “She said, ‘I might be – let’s have another lunch’ and then came back with a legal pad and about 127 questions… I thought, ‘I think I have the right person!’”. KEEP READING...
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Nonprofit Succession Planning: It’s Not Just for the CEO
By Janet Levine | Bloomerang
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A succession plan—developed long before it is needed—creates a process that ensures the work of that employee can and will continue. Read this article for ideas of what that process can look like.
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Successful Succession: Four Tips for a Seamless Transition
by Erica Poff, CAE, PMP, IOM
VP of Nonprofit Effectiveness, Talbott Talent
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Only 27% of nonprofits have a succession plan in place before learning of their chief executive’s impending departure. If your organization is among the other 73%, consider this advice from two executives to help guide your succession planning process. |
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Bite-Sized Bits of What's Rocking Our World Right Now |
The CEO position can be a lonely place, but that doesn't mean CEOs should go it alone. Leah reflects on the countless conversations she's had with nonprofit CEOs on this topic and shares advice about how to find the support and encouragement all leaders need.
- Leah York
President, Talbott Talent
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Executive Transitions: Succession Planning
Managing the departure of a key leader and finding, hiring, and onboarding a replacement, all the while ensuring your organization has the support and guidance it needs to continue meeting its mission, takes significant time and resources to accomplish. Talbott Talent can help you develop a customized plan that will guide your organization through any kind of succession- planned or otherwise.
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Talbott Talent is a team of experienced nonprofit professionals providing executive search and consulting services exclusively to nonprofit organizations nationwide. Contact our team at: info@talbotttalent.com.
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