{"id":1693,"date":"2022-05-12T13:10:05","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T17:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/?p=1693"},"modified":"2023-04-24T16:25:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T20:25:41","slug":"4-kinds-of-succession-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/4-kinds-of-succession-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Kinds of Succession Planning"},"content":{"rendered":"

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by Molly Penn<\/p>\n

Succession planning is a hot topic these days!\u00a0 This article will give you tips for navigating 4 different kinds of succession planning.\u00a0\u00a0As organizational development specialists who work with an equity forward lens, we have gotten a lot of inquiries about succession planning so we thought we’d share these strategies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Succession planning refers to four different, but related ideas: board succession; planned leadership succession; emergency succession; and staff succession.\u00a0 In this article, we share some strategies for thinking about each of these, in particular with an eye toward building equitable leadership in the sector.<\/p>\n

Why is Succession Planning Important?<\/h2>\n

Succession planning helps ensure that if or when someone leaves your organization, your programs and services are not interrupted.\u00a0 It ensures that your organization can continue delivering on its mission.<\/p>\n

Before starting to think about succession planning at any level in your organization, it is important to take stock of your culture, especially with regard to the degree to which white supremacy governs your culture.\u00a0 White supremacy is the water we all swim in so it is present in every organization, even those led by BIPOC folks.\u00a0 We have developed an organizational assessment tool based on the Characteristics of White Supremacy and their Antidotes by Tema Okun (with her permission) that can help you take stock of this before you get started – contact us<\/a> if you are interested in this.<\/p>\n

Board Succession Planning<\/h2>\n

Board succession planning is really about maintaining a healthy degree of turnover in your board.\u00a0You\u2019ll want to refer to your by-laws to determine what the rules are with regard to terms and term limits \u2013 particularly as they pertain to key roles like board Chair(s), officers and committee chairs.\u00a0 It is important for these roles to rotate with some degree of regularity to ensure a diversity of perspectives in leadership roles on the board.\u00a0 It also provides a variety of thought partners for the CEO.<\/p>\n

You can change your by-laws if you get a vote from the board to approve the changes.\u00a0 It is important to open this conversation with your board members – and to do so, you might use these helpful generative BoardSource Questions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As you are considering bringing on more board members of color, it is important to have these discussions to ensure you are building a more inclusive culture that will feel welcoming to people who have not traditionally been at the board table.<\/p>\n

Planned Leadership Succession<\/h2>\n

It can be difficult to talk about succession planning for the CEO role because it heightens people\u2019s anxiety about the prospect of the CEO leaving.\u00a0 This is a big transition in an organization\u2019s life, particularly in founder-led organizations, but not talking about it will make it that much harder to navigate than if you plan for it.<\/p>\n

When thinking about a planned succession, it is helpful to start by taking stock of the organization\u2019s current capacity.\u00a0 This is all important information for a new CEO when they come in.\u00a0 A good way of thinking about capacity is the nonprofit lifecycle model, put forth by Susan Kenney Stevens<\/a>.\u00a0 Start by placing each aspect of your organization on the lifecycle using this Lifecycle Diagnostic<\/a>.\u00a0 You will notice that different aspects of your organization may be in different phases of the lifecycle, but look for where the predominance is.\u00a0 This will help you understand the kinds of characteristics you may be seeking in a new leader.\u00a0 You may want a new leader to solidify your current lifecycle phase, or you may want a leader with the skills and experience to bring you to the next phase.\u00a0 If you have a bit more money to invest, you can get a customized assessment and capacity building plan using the Core Capacity Assessment Tool<\/a> (we are certified facilitators of this tool).<\/p>\n

Another thing to consider is the implications of your current CEO’s tenure in the organization and whether there is an indication that you might want to appoint an Interim Executive Director – an ED who is not a candidate for the permanent position but who can help people grieve or disengage from the founder or long term leader and make space for new approaches.\u00a0 You might use this CEO Tenure<\/a> quick assessment to help you determine if your organization would benefit from an interim Executive Director (we know many of these so we can refer you).<\/p>\n

In the case of a planned CEO succession there are some housekeeping things you should focus on getting in order.<\/p>\n