I beleive that the Conference Board's November/December Review (magazine) is worth a look-see by every nonprofit board who will or is currently facing the need to recruit a new Executive.
The article titled "Your Next CEO, Why succession planning is more important than ever." takes a wide and deep look at the variables that make good execs great as well as the role of Boards, their traditional deficits when hiring and other matters to consider.
A particularly important section in the article is titled "The Increasingly Stagnant Board of Directors." Nonprofit Boards take note, this is important! The author notes that generally the CEO assessment process is not inclined toward depth and diligence. Some members view comprehensive methods involving deeper assesmsents and more structured decision processes as "too burdensome and limiting; directors fear that the process will constrain their freedom of judgement or turn off would-be candidates whom they believe would prefer not to be assessed. As a result, organizations often employ more structured processes for selecting frontline supervisors than for identifying their next CEO.
Other habits of Boards hiring a CEO include valuing industry experience and track records over competence, knowledge over personal attributes, politics over precision, and, replacement over development (from internal).
I beleive these habits to be worthy of consideration and change. The real lesson: hiring a new exec is one of the most important activities a board does in fulfilling its fiduciary duty of care. When hiring, that board should consider a number of factors that go way beyond whether the individual has the right degree and/or experience in the particular discipline of the nonprofit.
Please read the article - it's worth the time.