In the corporate world, companies often overlook the pool of potential future leaders developing within their own ranks. However, those employees provide multiple succession options who can step in at a moment’s notice if an executive leader has to step down quickly. That’s not necessarily the case in nonprofits, where operations are leaner and meaner, more regulated, and where leadership, especially at the very top, often stays in place for decades. Nonprofits stand to lose so much if changes in leadership are not handled well. Nonprofit succession planning is crucial during leadership transitions in order to maintain everything from employee morale to the donation pipeline to an organization’s very mission.
Nonprofit succession planning is just as important as it is on Wall Street, yet recent research by Board Source found just 27% of nonprofits report having a written executive succession plan. The aim of nonprofit succession planning is, of course, to enable transition with as little disruption as possible. When a long-term leader leaves the organization, a vast amount of institutional knowledge walks away with them.
This is more than the process of identifying and developing new leaders to succeed the current executive. Succession planning offers an opportunity to take a fresh look at the nonprofit’s strategy and vision, goals and governance, and even the roles of the current leadership.