Nonprofit Leadership Transitions and Organizational Sustainability: An Updated Approach that Changes the Landscape

Executive transitions, we are warned, must be taken very seriously. A wrong hire can erode cash, reputation, relationships, and much more. We are told that they are inflection points with enormous consequences—very high stakes indeed. But, is this narrative necessarily true, or is there more to the story that would completely change the stakes?

Yes, executive transitions are powerful lever points. And they are even more powerful when not viewed in isolation. There are other ways we could think about leadership succession, ways that could limit occasions of harm, help diversify top leadership, smooth out bumps, and steadily increase an organization’s leadership quotient internally and among its peers on a more consistent basis.

In this webinar, Jeanne Bell of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and Tom Adams of Raffa PC talk about how to change one’s approach to this currently crucial moment in the life of a nonprofit. To do so, they deftly weave two conversations together into a coherent whole that every board and foundation in the country should consider, whether or not they are facing an imminent leadership change. This serves as NPQ’s first salvo into a full exploration of a new approach to nonprofit leadership transition. Watch for more.

The PowerPoint slides from this webinar can be downloaded here.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Jeanne Bell

Jeanne Bell, MNA directs NPQ's Advancing Practice program to advance critical conversations about nonprofit management and leadership. She is the former CEO of CompassPoint, where she stewarded the evolution of the organization to focus on emerging leaders and emergent leadership practice with an explicit orientation to social change. She is the author of numerous articles on nonprofit leadership, strategy, and sustainability and co-author of several books, including most recently, The Sustainability Mindset (Jossey-Bass, 2015). Jeanne's current board service includes Borealis Philanthropy and Community Works West. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Master of Nonprofit Administration program at the University of San Francisco's School of Management.

Tom Adams

Tom Adams is a director with Raffa PC, a consulting and finance services company. Adams has focused his writing, learning, and consulting for two decades on nonprofit executive transition and succession, contributing greatly to the development of nonprofit practice related to executive transitions, succession, and sustainability planning. He is author of The Nonprofit Leadership Transition and Development Guide: Proven Paths for Leaders and Organizations (Jossey-Bass, 2010). Other writings may be found at www.raffa.com/newsandresources/publications.

More about: Leadership Transition/Succession Planning Webinars

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today