More recently the inevitable is finally happening - a lot of nonprofit CEO's are retiring from their long-held positions. This transition was predicted with great warning bells some 20 and then ten years ago but thanks to the economy and a number of other factors, CEO's remained in their seats. But the time has truly come and this of course means that lots of folks would like to tell boards what to do about the situation.
One source always liking to be on-top of the prescription heap is Bridgespan. In their latest newsletter, and really a better format than just experts like me telling you what to do, there is an interview with a founder of what is considered a successful national nonprofit sharing her exiting experience. To view the whole article you can click here.
Meanwhile, I found the following passages of learning interest for other boards that may be experiencing their own CEO's departure.
The Bridgespan article is in a Q&A format so here's the Q's I found of interest.
When did you first raise your retirement with the board, and what steps did you take to help them embark on the organization's next phase?
I discussed it informally with a few board members in February or March of 2014. We already had a strong succession plan, so one of the steps I took was to re-familiarize them with it. I had done a lot of research on how other organizations had gone through transitions. I gave them a good how-to book, Tom Adams' The Nonprofit Leadership Transition and Development Guide, which had templates on exactly what to do. I also shared sample communication strategies and press releases from other organizations, and was able to offer an analysis I'd done on several search firms I'd researched a year or two previously, during an aborted search for a different position.
What was the board's biggest concern?
Its biggest concern was our funders and the fact that they all had strong personal relationships with me. This was something that we had to think about, especially because we were funded by just a handful of large foundations.
The board also wanted a lot of time to plan before we went public with the news. One challenge was that we held quarterly meetings. Being a national board, we had to fly people in from all over, so meeting every three months during this time was difficult. I made the formal announcement at our April 2014 meeting, then we took the July and November meetings to dig in and plan, with the expectation that they'd interview final candidates at the February 2015 board meeting.
The board also wanted to wait to communicate with the staff. And, I was a little bit less comfortable with that, but followed their request so they had time to plan.
How did you communicate the retirement to funders and partners?
We decided that all of our funders would get a personal phone call from me and an offer that, if they had questions, they could speak with the board. The board was very open to making sure the funders were comfortable. Then, when we did the big communications roll out in September, we used email. There were three pieces: a letter from me, a letter from the board chair, and a press release.
For the Gateway to College partner programs, we had a separate process, where they received the same thing, but the letter was more tailored to my relationship with them. We also held several webinars for any Gateway program staff nationally who wanted to ask questions.
Did you participate in the onboarding of the new CEO?
No, the board felt that a clean break was needed to give the new CEO the opportunity to come in as a leader. During the board's interview process for the two finalists, I did meet with each of them privately to answer their questions. But to be clear, I didn't interview them. I was very careful to respect the board's role there.
What advice would you offer leaders planning their own transitions?
I strongly recommend a succession plan. We had a detailed one, so it wasn't an abstract concept when I announced my retirement. Our succession plan was up to date—we reviewed it on a yearly basis along with an emergency business continuity plan. We also had a detailed multipage communication strategy delineated by audience, also updated yearly.
“ I strongly recommend a succession plan. ”
Also, it's important to help the board understand that it takes a significant amount of time to do this right. It also is easier if your board meets monthly. Our organization has quarterly meetings, so, in my case, the transition largely hijacked the work of the board for three quarterly meetings in a row. But having a current business plan in process for staff to routinely report goals against made it easier for the board to change its focus for a period of time and lead a successful transition.