SUCCESSION PLANNING: WHO WILL LEAD?

Let me introduce myself: I'm Dr. Amanda N Gibson, consultant in Management and Leadership, professor, author and speaker. My books: Succession Planning In Nonprofits: The Distance Between What We Know and What We Do Nonprofit Realities Everybody Must Face; both available at Amazon.com With a diverse and successful global career encompassing multiple industries and continents, I differentiated myself as an internationalist and global professional; including living and working abroad with multi-national companies. As a senior professional, I’ve proven global success in the deployment of modern leadership, organizational development and management tools and techniques, as well as significant strategic and operational experience in both for-profit and non-for-profit companies.

Learning Objectives Identify which roles require succession planning and why. Identify best practices in succession planning. Size appropriate strategies for leader development and talent management. Initiate a succession policy (to include consideration of interim leadership).

Why Plan for Succession? Minimizes risk Maximizes opportunity Supports organizational sustainability

Background: Lessons Learned Thoughtful succession planning prepares an organization for leadership transitions, expected or unexpected Lack of succession planning can result in a post-transition meltdown With a long-term executive a successful leadership transition requires a lot more up-front preparation than the five months required for search and screening. 5

Who Needs It? Boards of Directors Executives Key Leaders

– serves as a statement of commitment to: The Succession Policy – serves as a statement of commitment to: Outline the process of planned departure Prepare for inevitable leadership changes Assess leadership needs before beginning a search Appoint interim leadership (as appropriate) to ensure continuity and stability

Critical Planning Elements Succession Essentials Succession Policy and Emergency Backup Leader Development & Talent Management Ongoing talent development and investment tied to your strategic goals Departure Defined Succession Planning Pre-transition planning (1 – 3 years in advance)

Benefits of Succession Planning Aligns staff development with strategic vision Builds leadership capacity of staff Makes the top position more “doable” Engages and reassures the board Gives confidence to funders

Succession Policy Content Focuses on both transition and search Organizational assessment Transition/search committee Succession procedures Consideration of interim Internal candidates Search Plan

Importance and Conclusions Leaders tend to focus on more immediate goals Non-profit leaders are able to define the requirements for a successor Leaders are aware how challenging a transition is Non-profit leaders see succession planning as Board’s task Importance & Conclusions – The analysis for this study revealed several findings, which were not previously found in the literature. Non-profit leaders interviewed for this study expressed, directly or indirectly, the tendency to focus on more immediate goals, and that succession planning at their level means ensuring coverage for mid-management positions. Another conclusion of this study is that non-profit leaders are capable of articulating what should be the requirements for a successor, and how challenging a transition can be. Therefore succession planning is important and all organizations should have a written plan, involving various stakeholders, in order to minimize the difficulties when the transition moment comes. The most relevant fact discovered through the present study is that non-profit leaders consider that succession planning is a Board task and are reticent to initiate the process. The study is therefore significant in showing the need for present leaders to share their opinions and experiences with their Boards, and plan together for succession.

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