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, is co-founder of JustOrg Design. She has consulted on nonprofit strategy and organizational change for over 25 years. Jeanne also curates Nonprofit Quarterly's Leading Edge Program, recruiting and presenting nonprofit practitioners advancing more equitable nonprofit leadership practices. Previously, Jeanne led CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, one of the country's premier leadership and capacity-building organizations. While serving as CEO, Jeanne also chaired the board of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, a national association of nonprofit capacity builders and academics. She currently serves on the boards of Community Works and Borealis Philanthropy. She has a Masters in Nonprofit Management from the University of San Francisco. Jeanne loves living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

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 Webinars

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