Summary

Leadership transitions are tricky -- and potentially risky -- moments in a nonprofit's life. What are the most common pitfalls or aspects that get overlooked when nonprofits -- and outgoing leaders themselves -- tackle such leadership transitions?

What key strategies and tactics are essential to ensure a smooth leadership transition and maintain organizational stability?

What are the habits, practices, and behaviors that are most aligned with a successful exit of an Executive Director?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Ignacio Saiz,  who transitioned out of the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) some 2 years ago, on the right way to do this.

Ignacio’s Bio:

• Senior Advisor on Human Rights, Economic Justice, and Strategic Leadership
• Former Executive Director at the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
• Ignacio also held various managerial and leadership roles at Amnesty International, including Director of Policy Programs, Deputy Director for the Americas, and other roles

We discuss: 

• How planned transitions should be seen as an opportunity
• Written transition plans help in avoiding miscommunication, and in allocating clear roles and responsibilities for how to deal with the transition, while clarifying the timeline as well
• A comprehensive communication strategy is vital: outwards (towards donors/funders, peers/partners), as well as inwards (towards staff, board, advisory councils, volunteers etc.)
• Participation of staff is vital. One mechanism can be representation of 1-2 staff in the Board recruitment committee, as long as the organization is  very clear though about staff's decision rights vis-a-vis  the selection of the successor 
• Outgoing leaders often underestimate the anxiety that may occur among staff and some board members -- especially if their  tenure has been long
• Whether the outgoing leader plays any role in the organization beyond their tenure is a very tricky and highly contextualized  decision, and needs to be carefully negotiated between the outgoing and incoming leaders. Most importantly, this must be completely steered by the needs and preferences of the incoming leader.

Quotes:

• “Boards need to realize top leadership transition involves more than a recruitment”
• “Planned leadership transitions should be seen as a shared opportunity, not a cause for concern”
• “Transition takes at least two years, and has to include the transition-in period when the incoming leader needs active support”

Resources:

Ignacio’s LinkedIn Profile

Ignacio's blog post on the matter (note links at the end to two good additional resources)

YouTube video of this podcast

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