
The Succession Dilemma: Why Do Nonprofit Boards Fail to Plan Ahead?
By: Eugene Fram Free Digital Image
There are many types of crises common to an organization. But one event seems to trigger a large proportion of the ensuing trauma. It frequently happens when a CEO or another top manager retires, resigns or leaves for other reasons. The flow of leadership is about to be disrupted and there is no viable replacement for the departing executive.
This transitional panic happens in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) reported that 50 % of public company directors concede that CEO succession planning needs to be improved. * In the nonprofit environment, only 27% actually have succession plans to replace a suddenly departing executive. ** This demonstrates the low priority nonprofits place on over-viewing talent succession to prepare for unexpected vacancies.
Here are some insights (in italics) from the NACD report that are applicable to nonprofit succession planning, be it management talent overview or implementing the replacement process.