Is your non-profit ready for executive transition

If you haven’t planned for executive transition, it’s time. Recently, 78% of nonprofits surveyed noted they don’t have a formal succession plan, but 67% of leaders who responded to that same survey planned to exit in the next 5 years. And there are unplanned transitions as well – serious illness or death, caregiving, change of professional or personal goals (to name a few). Your chief executive may be offered their dream job! Have a plan for these cases, too. 

There’s also the reality that the days of nonprofit chief executives serving for decades are past. The average tenure of nonprofits EDs and CEOs is about 6 years. After two years, about one quarter – one half of executive transitions are – sadly - regarded as failures/disappointments, and 2/3 of those are due to politics, culture, and/or people.

Are You Ready for Executive Transition? A Board-Level Readiness Check

A useful way to prepare for executive transition is to step back and assess how ready the organization is to manage change, not just replacing one leader, but sustaining the organization as a whole.

Boards that navigate transitions well typically show strength in five core areas:

• Strategy & Environmental Awareness - A clear, current strategic direction and regular discussion of external forces shaping the organization’s future.

• Financial Stability & Risk Understanding - A shared understanding of financial strengths, vulnerabilities, reserves, and the true costs of leadership transition.

• Operational Infrastructure - Strong systems, policies, and decision-making structures that can withstand leadership change.

• Leadership Bench & Succession - Emergency succession plans, leadership development, and a pipeline of future leaders.

• Board Effectiveness & Governance - A cohesive board that evaluates its own performance and plans intentionally for leadership continuity.

To help boards assess these areas in a practical way, CSR has developed a free Executive Transition Readiness Scorecard. It provides a structured set of questions and simple scoring guidance to highlight strengths, risks, and priorities for action.

Download the Executive Transition Readiness Scorecard

Feedback from your board should be the basis for transition discussion: 

• What important organizational strengths exist that enhance your organization’s ability to manage successful leadership transitions?  

• What systems or practices does your organization need to improve to prepare for leadership transitions? 

• What are the most critical 1-3 action steps your organization should undertake to strengthen leadership succession capabilities? 

• What is a realistic timeframe for making these changes and who needs to be involved? 

• What additional observations (such as costs or anticipated obstacles) do you have about organizational transition? Do you have funds in reserve for an executive search?

• Is this an appropriate time to consider merging with another organization?

For an executive transition to be successful, it’s critically important for the board to remember this is an ORGANIZATIONAL transition. The departure of the chief executive – planned or otherwise - impacts the entire organization. It’s change, and change is uncomfortable. But it’s also an OPPORTUNITY. This is the board’s chance to assess the direction of the organization, to assess its strengths and its impacts and to set direction for its future. It’s time for your board to consider:

• What is our purpose? What products or services do we provide, and how do they benefit our stakeholders? How do our programs and activities directly align with this mission?

• What is our vision? What does our organization want to achieve in the long term? What would the world look like if we were successful?

• Who is our primary audience or client/customer? How do we understand and respond to their evolving needs and preferences? How is their feedback informing our work?

• What makes our approach unique or better than others in the same field? Who’s better at some of the services/programs we provide, and how can we collaborate?

• Do we measure the effectiveness and outcomes of our programs? Are we collecting quantitative AND qualitative data to show our results?

• Which programs should we grow, and which should we scale back or consider eliminating? 

• How can we ensure our programs and services remain relevant under current conditions and circumstances? 

• What are the biggest financial risks we face?

• Do we have the right staff and volunteer talent to provide the highest quality services and outcomes? 

• How are organizational morale and turnover? How do we address low morale or high turnover?

The board must be honest and candid with itself. If there are performance problems, systems deficiencies, board challenges, or other organizational issues, this is the time to address those.  

If you intend to saddle your new executive with problems, don’t set your new leadership prospects up for failure. Be candid about your expectations. There are candidates who may rise to the challenge, but there are others who – as you might expect - will opt out of consideration accordingly. Remember that your best candidates will be evaluating the board as closely as the board evaluates them. Internal and external stakeholders will be watching closely. Transparency will have major impact.

And lastly, the board can’t walk away after hire. It’s tempting, as transition can be lengthy and exhausting. But a transition isn’t successful until your new executive receives a positive performance review after Year 1. The board or a committee of the board must provide onboarding, support, professional development opportunities, and – of course - thorough oversight of the new chief executive during this period.

If CSR can assist you with strategic and/or succession planning, recruitment and hiring, please reach out.

About Author:

Betsy Wallace brings over two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, governance, and executive transition support. A former Senior Relationship Manager at NeighborWorks America, she works with boards and executives to strengthen strategy, leadership, and organizational resilience.