Saturday, July 28, 2007
Emotional Issues
The participants in our recent Succession Planning roundtable agreed. The struggle with succession planning wasn’t with the steps involved in the process. Other than the time it takes to document the process, the steps alone are not that difficult. The primary challenge with succession planning is in the emotional issues. The Executive Director might not want to bring up succession planning for fear the Board would think they are planning to leave. The Board might not want to bring it up for fear the ED might think the Board wanted them to leave. You may have staff that you want to train to perform functions in the ED’s absence or in the interim between an old and a new ED but you don’t want them to be the new ED. The staff or key donors may have a close relationship with the ED and fear that the loss of the ED would adversely impact the future of the organization. Navigating the emotional impact that comes with succession planning can be mitigated by focusing on policies and procedures and investing time in fostering open communication. Focusing on policies diffuses the personal aspects. Developing better communication between all the people involved can reduce the tension that accompanies these discussions.
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2 comments:
I agree, but succession planning should beyond the ED to key upper management and to the Board leadership. While this is even less likley to occur it is equally important.
That is right on target. The finance director often holds more key information than the executive director does. It is important for each organization to identify the key areas where succession planning is necessary.
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