Making a Smooth Transition From One Executive Director to the Next

Losing Your Executive Director Without Losing Your Way: The Nonprofit’s Guide to Executive Turnover
by Carol Weisman and Richard I. Goldbaum

“Executive transition offers a wonderful opportunity to review the organization at all levels and develop a plan for making improvements,” write Carol Weisman, president of Board Builders, a consulting company in St. Louis, and Richard I. Goldbaum, a principal of Transitions in Leadership, a management-consulting company in Chesterfield, Mo.

Although they caution that leadership changes at nonprofit groups can be stressful, the authors offer suggestions to help groups prepare for the departure of their executive directors and to pave the way for new leaders.

Ms. Weisman and Mr. Goldbaum say that nonprofit boards can ready their organizations for a management transition even before executive directors announce their intention to leave. The authors suggest that board members scout staff members who have the potential to rise to management positions and encourage those employees to participate in leadership-development activities.

The book describes steps that boards should take immediately after learning a charity manager is planning to leave. For example, for departing executives who are disgruntled, it might be necessary to change signature authorization, passwords, and personal identification numbers for bank accounts, safe-deposit boxes, and credit cards. The authors also advise board members, before hiring a replacement, to assess their organization’s strengths and challenges.

The book reviews a board’s responsibilities with regard to writing job descriptions, advertising positions, and evaluating résumés. In addition, the book provides guidelines for conducting interviews with applicants and contacting references, as well as tips for preparing new executives for their jobs.

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103-1741; (317) 572-3986 or (800) 956-7739; fax (317) 572-4002; http://www.josseybass.com; 158 pages; $30; I.S.B.N. 0-7879-6371-2.