May 25, 2016 | Read Time: 1 minute
Title: “Turnover at the Top: Exploring Nonprofit Executive Turnover”
Organization: North Carolina State University
Summary: Most nonprofit executives leave their positions for reasons other than retirement or a new job, says a new study.
Amanda Stewart, assistant professor of public administration at the university, interviewed 40 nonprofit executives about how they ascended into leadership roles. Only nine said they replaced a predecessor who had retired voluntarily. Five others said the previous CEO had left to take another job.
The executives worked at national organizations that have experienced leadership turnover from 2010 to 2013. Among the findings:
- Eight of the leaders said their predecessors had left due to wrongdoing, and another two were fired for no stated cause; five others quit at the mutual agreement with their boards. Two were retired involuntarily.
- The departed executives had an average tenure of 10.6 years at the helm. Nearly one in four remained involved in the organization after they left the leadership job.
- One in three were promoted internally; nearly half came from another nonprofit in the region. Only two new CEOs came from the business world.
- Twenty-six of the new leaders said their organization had a strategic plan, but only five said their group had a succession plan.
