How to Talk About Leadership Succession Planning

by Richard M. King, President & CEO, Kittleman & Associates

As 56% of the current nonprofit executive directors step down over the next 5 years*, why is it so difficult for organizations to face the issue head-on?

A Familiar Scene

It was shortly after he attended a conference panel discussion on leadership succession planning that Dave, the executive director of a social service agency for nine years, decided to broach the subject with his Board chair, Phyllis. Not that he had any plans to leave; things were going extremely well. Given the conference presentation, he simply began to realize the vulnerability of his agency should he not be there. The next time he and Phyllis had their routine monthly face-to-face briefing, Dave concluded the meeting by suggesting, "I think we need to start talking about a succession plan for the agency". Phyllis nearly fell off her chair. "Are you leaving?" she asked in a panicked voice. "What’s going on?" And even though she regained her composure as Dave assured her of his true intentions, Phyllis went home that evening and confided in her husband that Dave was on his way out.

The reaction Phyllis experienced is a very human reaction. In fact, if the roles were reversed, where Phyllis had been the one to attend the conference and she had come back and suggested to Dave at their briefing that "I think we need to start talking about a succession plan for the agency", Dave might have been the one to tell his wife that he was on his way out.

So how do you begin a conversation about leadership succession without raising suspicions or causing undue alarm? There is a way.

It’s Part of Planning

In all organizations a dynamic exists between the governing board and management, which is generally manifested in the working relationship between the board chair and the chief executive. It is not atypical for the chair and the CEO to discuss privileged, sensitive and often confidential issues before such topics are shared with the governance or management groups. Leadership succession planning is one of these topics. Notwithstanding the divergence of professional opinion about whether leadership succession planning is the responsibility of the board of directors (since they hire the CEO) or of the chief executive (since management development is the domain of the executive director), I think leadership succession planning is the result of a strong partnership in which the chair and the CEO play a significant role as both catalyst and creators of an effective planning process. To me, it matters not who first puts the issue on the table, but rather whether both are committed to the effort it will require to establish a viable plan for the organization.

CEO Initiative

In my experience, it is better for the CEO to approach the topic by posing a simple question to the chair: "If I get hit by a bus, what happens to the agency?" While a sudden, unplanned CEO departure is only one important reason to develop a succession plan, it is certainly more palatable to address than other scenarios (like what happens if the CEO announces that he or she has accepted another position and will leave in 30 days). In fact, this hit-by-a-bus scenario is where many current leadership succession plans start (and unfortunately most end there as well). Once that particular scenario is open for discussion, other scenarios will likely come up and be added to the conversation. Then it is up to the CEO and board chair to spearhead an effort to design a unique plan. I say unique because every nonprofit leadership succession plan will be an original plan, relevant and applicable only for that particular organization.

Most nonprofits are at a loss when it comes to knowing where to begin in the succession planning process. Learning opportunities are limited due to issues of cost and relevance. However, resources such as Kittleman’s Seven Steps to Leadership Transition PlanningTM hope to fill the gap. See our website for more information.

*The Annie E. Casey Foundation, "Change Ahead: The 2004 Nonprofit Executive Leadership and Transition Survey" (2004)