START NOW TO HEAD OFF CRITICAL EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP SHORTAGE
By Barbara Pioli

Several national studies on nonprofit executive transition were conducted by leading research institutions between 2003 and 2005. Many of the results were similar to that of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which found that, of the “2,200 nonprofit organizations surveyed, 65 percent of respondents expected to go through a leadership transition by 2009.” Furthermore, a majority of the respondents are Baby Boomers in their 50s and 60s.

What wasn’t anticipated at the time of the surveys was the downturn in the economy. As a result, the wave of retirements did not happen. Now that the economy is beginning to improve, talk about retirement is resuming.The impending wave of change brings two distinct challenges to the nonprofit sector.

The sheer number of experienced directors leaving the nonprofit sector inevitably will put a strain on the entire industry. There are not enough middle management people to fill the expected void. In addition, the leaders coming up in the ranks have a new set of ideas about what constitutes leadership, what motivates them, and how they perceive challenges. The implications to nonprofits, especially those that have had the same leader or leadership style for the past decade or so, are tremendous.

If nonprofits hope to weather the coming tsunami of leadership change, they will need to have a thorough grasp of their mission and priorities, and be willing to examine how they conduct operations. While it is always recommended to conduct a thorough search for a new director by seeking candidates from outside the organization as well as from within, the shortage of qualified individuals suggests that hiring from within may become a necessity.

Here are four operational ideas from the Annie E. Casey Foundation that meld well with a succession planning and merit immediate consideration:

¬ Foster a climate that values young people. For example, management should actively embrace worthy ideas from younger employees and model valuing those contributions to the entire staff.

¬ Consciously seek intergenerational perspectives on issues and possible solutions. Doing so could add depth to a tired, historical approach to problem-solving.

¬ Review your decision-making model. Is there room to make the process more democratic, which might increase engagement by younger staff?

¬ Maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life is of paramount importance to Generation X.

¬ Short of rewriting your vacation and benefit package, explore cost-free ways to accommodate greater flexibility in the work schedule.

In addition to the plethora of available studies, I have personally experienced the positive energy, creativity and commitment of the next generation of leaders. Considering the number of constraints that nonprofits have thrust upon them, we cannot afford to be caught unprepared in attracting and retaining the next generation of nonprofit leaders. The best remedy to bridging the chasm is to incorporate some of these ideas while launching a full-scale succession plan.