Replacing any nonprofit executive for every reason is one of the, if not the, most challenging tasks a nonprofit board ever faces. There are so many factors to be considered not the least which is politics. Yes: board members do have internal politics that very much influence the next "pick". Think Big Brother or one of those other TV shows where a bunch of unrelated people are put in a house or on an island and have to find ways to be cooperative despite disdain or jealously and the individual goal of staying on long enough to win whatever is the prize. Yes, I believe these dynamics, maybe not so deep, are often most played out when it comes time to determine who will be the paid "leader" - the individual most capable of carrying-out the vision of the board and ensuring the board fulfills its fiduciary duties.
The National Gallery board is now facing this task of replacing its 26-year Exec. And as if the challenges I just described aren't big enough, the nature of the Gallery ( a quasi-governmental entity) and the nature and composition of the board, AND, the in-house intrigue of mostly federally employed staff, make this process one certainly not to be envied. According to the Washington Post some challenges (perhaps not so untypically identified in a transition include:
The gallery’s next leader faces significant challenges. The museum’s digital strategy is undeveloped and trails its peer institutions. Poor management across multiple departments has caused high turnover and low staff morale, resulting in missed deadlines and budgets that waste taxpayer dollars, according to staff. Long-standing problems of sexual harassment, retaliation and favoritism persist because senior executives and personnel officers ignore or cover up complaints, according to seven current and former employees, most of whom requested anonymity because of fear of reprisal.
The National Gallery’s conventional approach stems from its unusual structure as a quasi-federal organization. Chartered by Congress and federally owned, the gallery is a nonprofit corporation that receives about 75 percent of its annual $190 million budget from taxpayers. Most of its 1,100 employees are federal workers and federal funds allow its 5 million annual visitors to enter free.
Sharon Percy Rockefeller and Frederick W. Beinecke, two members of the gallery’s nine-member board, declined to comment through a spokeswoman. (The board has five general trustees serving staggered 10-year terms and four ex officio members: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution David J. Skorton.)
There’s a moment for reinvention,” said Gail Anderson, a museum consultant, about replacing a veteran leader. “How do you change the culture of an institution, its position in the community? You have this moment to pivot.”
Museums around the country are grappling with diversity and inclusion in staffing, especially at senior levels. A 2015 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation report found that only 16 percent of museum leaders were people of color. The American Alliance of Museums highlighted diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion as a top priority in a 2017 report titled "Facing Change."
I think it enough to say: read the Washington Post article. An executive transition of this nature doesn't get more difficult.