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Executive Transition: HIRING STAFF

Understanding the Whole Picture

by Barbara Gilvar

H
iring an executive setting the tone and

© Image Zoo/Images.com
■

director is one of direction for the process

the most impor- and instilling confidence
tant duties and op- in it;
portunities facing any non- ■ stating the values

profit board of directors. It is and the ethical and legal

a time when the board can guidelines that apply to
have a tremendous positive the process;
impact on the future of the ■ reducing the natural

organization by thinking anxiety that surrounds

strategically and linking any major change;
vision with the search for a ■ encouraging commu-

new executive director. But nity building and the cre-

the opposite approach—re- ation of a shared vision;
sponding to anxiety and the ■ selecting a respected

urge to hurry—can result in chair of the search com-

a less satisfactory result or mittee;
even a costly mistake. ■ helping to identify

A board or search com- the tasks and the poten-

mittee member can learn tial problems;
the strategies, methods and ■ working to address is-

techniques that a profes- sues that would lessen

sional search consultant the attractiveness of the
knows, but needs to also position;
understand that before a ■ identifying how the

search process is begun, the board can develop its ca-

organization must assess its pacities so that it can more
strengths and challenges ably support a new execu-
and have a vision for the tive director and the or-
future. Without this strate- ganization; and
gic foundation, the search ■ creating a plan for a

process cannot be tailored to the needs of the organization,
and the process devolves into the search for a generic person
for a generic nonprofit.
Moving purposefully through a search can help a board
build its leadership capacity. Instead of seeing the search as a
problem to be overcome, the board can create a transition pro-
cess that focuses energy and positive attention on the organ-
ization and its future, which will be attractive to candidates.
Whether a land trust is about to search for its first execu-
tive director or is facing a change of leadership, the guidelines
below can help the board of directors during this critical time.
The Transition Process Defined
The transition process encompasses much more than
the search itself. The organization will benefit from the
board’s leadership in the following areas:
smooth and successful transition to new leadership.
Managing Organizational Change
Matching Director Skills with Needs
An organization develops and changes over time, which
naturally influences the skills each nonprofit seeks in its
next executive director. Evaluating the organization’s current
needs and its goals will result in a job description that fits
this particular time in its history. The emphasis on vision
and potential will yield a more exciting description of the
organization as it reaches out to potential candidates.
Changing Board Roles
Just as it is important to assess how growth and develop-
ment affect the role of the executive director, the board will

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want to examine how its role needs to grow and change. Usu-
ally it is easier to see the ways the organization is changing;
it takes a concerted effort to focus on how the board’s role is
also changing. A committee on trustees can lead the board’s
assessment of where it wants to grow in order to be prepared
for the organization’s next phase of development.
The following examples illustrate natural evolution.
Founders or long-time leaders: If the executive director
is a founder or has been a long-time leader, the board is often
more responsive and less pro-active than it will be with a
new executive director. The process of envisioning the future
is the beginning of the board’s new leadership role. And, if
the board selects an executive director who has not been part
of the nonprofit, the board will naturally be more of a guide
because it knows the history, culture and development of
the organization.
The board and its first executive director: In a small or
new organization, board members often provide needed
hands-on assistance. As the nonprofit grows and staff num-
bers increase, there is less need for the
same kind of hands-on activities. Board
members generally find this transition
awkward. The good news is that there is a
different but potentially equally satisfying
role. A growing organization allows the
board to focus at the strategic level, developing a vision,
assuring fiscal health and hiring the next executive director.
In freeing up the board’s time from hands-on activities there
is an opportunity to use the board’s talents in new ways, but
it takes a conscious effort and many dialogues to understand,
be comfortable with and make the transition to a new role.
Easing the exit for a long-time leader: As the board
thinks about the future and the search, it also needs to focus
on the out-going executive director who may find this transi-
tion difficult. A departing leader can create a culminating
project to provide some closure to a period of long leader-
ship. This might be a fundraising campaign, an opportunity
to connect with supporters in a way that assures the contin-
ued success of the organization. One out-going executive
director provided notebooks for his successor: one outlined
the routine operational details and deadlines and a second
focused on people and organizations that would be impor-
tant to the new leader. Another person had always wanted to
write a history of the group and now had the time to do it.
The board’s sensitivity to a long-time leader’s needs can ease
this transition for everyone.
Vision, Strengths and Challenges
In the process of restating or creating its vision, the board
will gain an understanding of its most important challenges,
and in turn will identify the skills most needed in the new
executive director. It is an opportunity to say “This is what we
do well (and why you should join us) and this is where we
need your help.” When a potential candidate sees the goals
and challenges, he or she understands that there is a real
leadership role and a strong candidate will find that attractive.
A clearer understanding of the challenges also enables
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the board to see where it might be more helpful. Eliminating
or reducing some challenges and beginning to work on others
will strengthen the organization and show candidates that the
board is a strong one and willing to help the new leader hired.
The Need for Ongoing Evaluations
The single most important thing that boards can
do for their organizations and to support their executive
directors is to establish clear goals and a constructive
way to evaluate the effectiveness of the work of the
boards and the executive directors.
Most people resist evaluations, which are too often used
only when there is a problem. The transition offers an oppor-
tunity to develop a proactive and ongoing process that is con-
structive and flows easily from the work already being done.
As the board thinks about challenges, it is a natural step to
develop annual goals, and annual goals lead naturally to an
evaluation process. The board can begin to develop its own
goals and then its own evaluation process and be ready to
respond to candidates’ questions about how they will be evalu-
ated if hired. Having a process is important to candidates who
see regular evaluations as a way to know how they are doing.
Regularly scheduled informal discussions are a remind-
er of the priorities and keep attention and focus on the goals.
For the board and for the executive director, monthly dia-
logues make a year-end evaluation process a summing-up
and a preparation for developing the next year’s goals.
Decision-making and Selecting
an Executive Director
Often a nonprofit is uncertain about how the choice of
the next leader should happen. If the decision-making
process is vague, people will reach their own conclusions
about what it is. At the end of the search, misperceptions can
result in disappointments and anger, reducing confidence in
the search committee, board or the process itself.
The bylaws of most organizations state that the board
hires, evaluates and (if necessary) fires the executive direc-
tor. Communicating the board’s role and the search commit-
tee’s role at the beginning of the process is critical. When the
search committee members understand that their responsi-
bility is to identify and screen candidates and present final-
ists to the board, their role is clear from
the start. They understand that the board
will use all of the information provided by
the search committee and the information
it gathers to select the next executive
director. Through their discussions and
analysis, the board will own the decision it reaches and be
prepared to support the leader it selects.
The Search Committee
Selecting the chair of the search committee is an early
and visible decision. When the chair is someone who is wise
and respected in the community, this provides an early indi-
cation of how the search will proceed and will increase con-
fidence in the process.
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The ideal chair should balance good process and
good progress and be adept at moving meetings along
respectfully so that people feel heard.
Being a good search committee member also requires
wisdom, having a respected place in the organization or
community and being a good listener who
is open to learning. To provide multiple
perspectives for the search process dia-
logues, the committee can include repre-
sentatives of the board, the administration
or staff and perhaps a constituent or com-
munity member. A thoughtful search process provides what
is too often a rare opportunity to have meaningful dialogues
across these constituencies.
Committee Size
Because it is important that search committee members
attend each meeting, a search committee that is too large,
larger than eight to 12 people, makes scheduling meetings
and interviews more difficult. One way to minimize schedul-
ing problems is to reach an early agreement on a timetable
and schedule.
A candidate may accept another offer while the search
committee is trying to find a date when everyone can meet.
Committee Meetings
In the abstract, committee members may find the num-
ber of meetings daunting. But, as the process unfolds, and
the committee finally meets candidates, the work becomes
more interesting and people realize its importance.
The search committee’s tasks determine the number of
meetings and their content. Here is an overview of the tasks:
■ gather community input
■ develop the job description
■ prepare and implement an outreach plan
■ create clear criteria to provide a framework for discus-
sions and decisions,
■ use the criteria to review applications
■ interview the most qualified candidates
■ assist the board in conducting reference checks
■ prepare a report with recommendations to the board
■ maintain good communication with the community
throughout the process.
Screening Applications
An important discussion within the search committee is
to establish minimum requirements and a “wish list” for
other experience. Requirements that are too narrow may
unnecessarily limit the number of strong candidates.
Flexibility, where possible, could provide excellent
people whose background the committee could not visualize
at the start of the search.
Having minimum requirements will make the initial
review of applications easier. Then, the committee will want
to do further work to learn more about the candidates who
are qualified. Preliminary telephone interviews and refer-
ences help the search committee understand the person,
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answer any questions and assure that there is mutual inter-
est before an interview with the full committee.
Interviews
Before the whole committee begins interviewing candi-
dates it will create questions to ask each person. The job
description, with its stated goals, is a good basis for develop-
ing questions. And, asking about the candidate’s actual expe-
rience always reveals more than “what if” questions.
Questions in the “what if” category only test the person’s
ability to interview well by guessing what the committee
wants to hear.
References
References help the search committee and board con-
tinue their learning process. Speaking to people to whom the
candidate reports, people he or she supervises, and to peers
will provide a well-rounded view. The committee or board
members can develop questions so the same ones are asked
about each candidate. Written references are less informa-
tive and generally have been seen by the candidate. Asking
the candidate’s permission to call anyone who knows his or
her professional work assures the board that it has a com-
plete and accurate understanding of each finalist.
Ideally the extent of the available information will
be the basis for the decision and diminish a preference
for a “favorite” based on less thorough analysis.
The Next Phase of the Transition
Once the board has reached its decision and the candi-
date of its choice accepts the offer, it is natural to breathe a
sigh of relief—but the next phase of the
process is just beginning. A little more
thought and work will build on what has
been a successful process and make the
next phase of the transition just as suc-
cessful.
First impressions are critical and mistakes are hard to
overcome later. Making sure that the new executive director
understands special traditions, unique parts of the organiza-
tion’s culture and the power structure is important to a suc-
cessful beginning.
If a new leader does not understand an organization’s
traditions or way of doing things, he or she can do or say
something that alarms people; they may think that this
person will never fit.
A transition committee can create an overall plan that
includes:
■ public relations opportunities/communication with
the community and key supporters,
■ time for the new leader to meet the staff and under-
stand the workings of the organization,
■ events to introduce key people in the external community,
■ support for the personal transition of the executive
director and his or her family.
The following comments from three executive directors
after their first year in a new organization highlight some of
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the transition issues that they encountered, most of which
could have been avoided if the board had thought about the
many demands on a new leader and developed a thoughtful
transition plan:
■ “In the first year, there was simply not enough time.
They wanted me to decide everything. I needed to make
connections with every constituency. The board felt it was-
n’t getting enough of my time.”
■ “Because there were so many unresolved issues that need-
ed my attention, the staff felt I was uninterested in them.”
■ “I inherited the tough personnel issues. They take it
out of you the most and consume the most psychic energy.”
One excellent transition plan for an executive director
was created by two people who were co-founders and co-
directors who had provided leadership for 33 years. The plan
incorporated several visits by their successor to meet board
and staff, to be present at key events and
to find housing. When unanticipated
crises occurred in the first year, the execu-
tive director had already established rela-
tionships in the organization and under-
stood the work culture.
Ideally, a transition committee is formed to create the
plan and provide a forum to ensure follow-through. An essen-
tial dialogue between the board and the new executive direc-
tor is the conversation about goals and expectations. The
results can be reframed as goals for the overall organization
under the leadership of the executive director and as goals
for the full board under the leadership of the board chair.
Writing this down provides a map to refer to during the year.
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Agreeing on goals leads naturally to a
measured and meaningful evaluation
process, as mentioned earlier.
A transition process includes every
facet of the organization and a well-con-
ceived process creates new energy, mak-
ing the transition a logical time to begin strengthening the
board, solving problems and creating a vision for the future.
Every improvement will help to attract stronger candidates
and obviously, every improvement will also benefit the
organization. P
Barbara J. Gilvar has been an executive search consultant
to nonprofit organizations since 1979. An important part
of her approach is her work in organizational assessment
and development. Prior to establishing her own firm, Gilvar
was a partner in a large search firm where she taught search
philosophy and methods to all new employees. She also
taught administrators in large nonprofits how to recruit and
assure diversity among candidates. Most recently she has
coached search committees, teaching them to do the search
as an experienced professional would.
The Art of Hiring Leaders: A Guide for Nonprofit Organi-
zations is her second book on the search process. The book
encourages strategic thinking as the foundation for a search
and includes suggestions for board development to support
the organization as it begins this important transition. It also
provides guidance on outreach, networking, interviewing and
references. To order, call 1-800-343-5540 or visit www.theart
ofhiringleaders.net. The price is $34.95 plus shipping.
Spring 2007