Ingrid Kirst

Beyond the Heir Apparent: Navigating Internal and External Nonprofit Leadership Searches 

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The question of who will lead an organization into the future is a pivotal one. Should you hire a known quantity from within, or conduct an external search? If you have a potential internal successor, navigating the process requires careful consideration of several key factors. In my experience with ED searches, I have seen that regardless of which path you follow, step one is vital.



Step 1:  Assess Your Organization’s Future Needs

  • Identify the leadership qualities required for the organization’s future over the next 3 to 5 years. Your organization doesn’t need to clone your current leader or choose their opposite. Instead, consider what the agency needs to thrive in the future.
  • What is essential in this phase of the organization’s journey? Is it stability, a fresh perspective, growth, or transformation? Do you need an externally focused leader? Someone who can revamp operations? 
  • Be sure to gather input from the entire board, staff, community partners, and funders for a well-rounded perspective. 

Once you have this broad overview, schedule time to thoroughly consider its implications. This means the board’s decision will be based on what is needed for the long-term sustainability of the organization.

 

Step 2: Vet the Internal Candidate

Once you know what you need, vet the internal candidate. Do they have the skill sets identified in step 1? Do they have the soft skills needed to be a successful leader? There needs to be a strong consensus among the board that the internal candidate meets most of what the organization needs. (This article suggests around 70% agreement as a benchmark.) The vetting process could include inviting the candidate to a board meeting to meet the whole board, a formal interview, and checking references outside the organization. Be upfront with the candidate that this is a process and not a foregone conclusion.

Often the internal candidate has been put forward by the outgoing leader as an heir apparent. This vote of confidence should certainly be weighed, but don’t let the ED’s perspective unduly influence the outcome. Encourage them to share their concerns about the candidate as well as their strong points. Sometimes an ED puts forward an internal candidate out of fear of who the board might select. It is important to remember that this is the board’s decision, not that of the outgoing ED. The board should also be careful not to assume that an outsider is the better choice, either. The internal candidate may be ready to lead. (More thoughts on vetting an internal candidate.)

In addition, hiring the internal candidate maintains organizational knowledge and encourages staff to grow their skills and stay with the organization. There is real value in promoting from within for building morale across the board. (Learn more in my article about creating a solid plan to develop staff skills.)



Step 3: Reach Consensus on a Decision

After this process, the board needs to come to consensus through an open, participatory process. If the internal candidate is clearly a good match for the position, they should move forward with the hiring.

If the board isn’t sure, give the internal candidate feedback and encourage them to apply for the position. This is a delicate process and an area where an external search consultant can benefit the relationship between the board and the internal candidate. While an external search will take longer, the costs in time and money are worth it for accessing a diverse talent pool with fresh perspectives and ultimately making the best decision possible.



Step 4: The Importance of Managing Transitions and Relationships Well

No matter who is hired, there must be a strong transition and onboarding process. This article has good pointers on why that matters.

If you do go forward with an external search and have an internal candidate apply, make sure to:

  • Ask the internal candidate to keep their candidacy a secret (at least until the finalist stage) – it will save everyone headaches later on.
  • Be sure all candidates have the same information at the finalist stage (or earlier if appropriate). External candidates should know about the challenges facing the organization. 
  • Have a one-on-one conversation with the unsuccessful internal candidate to tell them why and what skills they should work on developing. This will go a long way toward retaining them. I encourage the unsuccessful internal candidate to let the person hired know about their candidacy. This lets the new leader work on building a relationship with that person, which will also help them stay.
  • Some additional pointers on including an internal candidate.



Conclusion

Deciding to hire an internal candidate is an important decision. As a search consultant, I can help you throughout this process, even if you decide not to conduct an external search. Contact me for a free, no-obligation discussion.

In one search I conducted, the board had a strong internal candidate, but they weren’t fully convinced she was the right hire. After an external search with three fantastic finalists, the board realized that their internal candidate was best-suited for the position and chose her. I’ve also conducted searches where the external candidate was chosen over a strong internal finalist after careful consideration. When boards take the time to seriously consider their options, they can make an informed decision.



The Retention Tool You’re Missing: Stay Interviews

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Imagine knowing exactly what keeps your best employees engaged and motivated. Not guessing but truly understanding their needs and aspirations. While exit interviews reveal why people leave, stay interviews unlock the secrets to why they stay—and how to help them stay even longer. It’s a proactive approach, a chance to address small frustrations before they become major roadblocks, and a powerful tool for building a culture where everyone thrives.

Stay Interview: a focused conversation between an employee and their manager to illuminate what strengthens their commitment to the organization and identify areas for improvement.

 

As an executive director, I experienced firsthand the power of open dialogue. When staff felt comfortable sharing their long-term goals, we could collaboratively shape their career paths and maximize their impact. Stay interviews formalize this process, ensuring every employee feels heard and valued. It’s about more than retention; it’s about fostering a workplace where people are invested in their growth and the organization’s success.

Naomi Hattaway shared useful tips on stay interviews on her Leaving Well Podcast, including what not to do and a variety of ways to think about how to connect with staff in meaningful ways. She provides an exercise of reviewing job descriptions as a group to spark conversation and look for improvements. (Or read Naomi’s article on the topic here.)

 

Before diving into the questions, take a moment to review each team member’s job description. This simple step can spark insightful conversations and reveal hidden opportunities for alignment and development.

Sample Questions for Individual Stay Interviews

  • What do you look forward to on your way to work?
  • What are you learning here, and what do you want to learn? 
  • Why do you stay here?
  • What can I do to make your job better for you?
  • What are your career goals?

Need more ideas for questions to ask? Check out this list.

 

Tips on Conducting Great Stay Interviews

  • Send the questions in advance – let those who prefer to consider their answers in-depth.
  • Schedule the stay interview separately from any performance evaluation or salary discussion meetings – this isn’t a review of their performance.
  • Talk about confidentiality and stick to what you promise. If an employee tells you they are considering leaving, will you share that information with others? If they share a serious concern, ask them if you can share that with higher-ups.
  • Listen and acknowledge their concerns, but don’t over-promise what you can do to fix the issues.
  • Make any changes you can as soon as possible, or explain when changes will happen.
  • Take this to the next level – have your board chair conduct stay interviews with board members.
  • Stay interviews aren’t going to fix ongoing culture problems in your organization. If that’s an issue you are facing, the stay interviews may illuminate it. Then you can tackle culture concerns for everyone.

In a 2024 Gallup survey, 42% of voluntarily departing employees say their manager could have done something to prevent them from leaving their job. Wouldn’t you like to know what that something is? Give exit interviews a try and let me know how they go!

Agency for Change Podcast

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On this episode of the Agency for Change podcast, I chatted with host Lyn Wineman about changes in nonprofits and how we can navigate them better.

We talk about interim EDs, surprise board chair changes, staff turnover, and much more.

Take a listen here or anywhere you get your podcasts.

My original quote that I shared with Lyn on this episode: “Change brings both opportunities and challenges. Use the power of transition to transform your organization.”

Advice for a Long-Term Leader Considering a Departure

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These are some tough lessons for a long-term leader to learn from someone who has seen a lot of transitions.

You are not the job or the organization. You are one person who has poured heart and soul into this nonprofit but you are replaceable. Someone else will do it differently. They’ll do some things better and some things less well. But you will have to let go. You can only control the process until you leave and even then, it will be increasingly less in your control. 

It is time for you to think about the legacy you want to leave. How can you ensure the best chance of success for the organization you have built up? Here are some suggestions.

Transfer responsibilities and relationships to other staff. Start now – the new ED doesn’t have to have all the same responsibilities that you did, and in fact, won’t be able to take on all of that legacy work when they are learning the role. Start delegating and empowering your staff to take on this work. You need to ensure that key donor and partnership relationships are organizational relationships not dependent upon you.

Build a strong board. Often with a long-term ED, the board is a gathering of people who have a relationship with the ED. They aren’t a cohesive team with strong bonds between each other. They need to fully understand the work you do. They need to be a team in order to do the work of hiring and supporting the next executive director. They need to be fully enmeshed in the mission and vision of the organization and making strategic decisions. How can you help them build this team ethic?

Document, document, document. Write down as much as you can. Make sure you have a list of computer accounts and critical deadlines. Give the new ED a roadmap so they know what to expect in their first year. Explain the revenue sources and the relationships that make them work. Let someone know that one funder hates phone calls but another only wants to communicate by phone.

Clean house. Do what you can to leave a clean house for your successor. This includes cleaning out decades of paperwork. It also includes letting go of work and people that no longer serve the organization. 

Raise money for the new ED – make sure they have a cushion so they can get started without worrying about making payroll in week one.

Prepare yourself. Work on your own emotional state and extracting yourself from the organization. Work with a therapist or coach if you can – this is a big task and the more you can do it yourself, the better the transition will be. Find other ways to make a difference. One ED I worked with was excited to take care of her new grandchild full-time. Another planned a long trip to help herself reset. It doesn’t have to be a full plan for what you are doing for the next ten years, but what are you excited to have time to do now? Visit family? Train for a bike trip? Volunteer in a completely different field? Pick something you can look forward to.

Be an enthusiastic supporter of the new ED and the organization after you leave. Your voice will still carry a lot of weight in the community – take the high road. Likewise, be prepared to ask for what you need if that’s possible. How would you like to be honored after your departure? Think about what would make the most difference to you so you’re ready to ask for it. You may want to stay involved – if so, take a sabbatical first, and then come back and talk through the options with the new ED. But give them space first to establish themselves in the role, and remember that they are the ones who get to decide whether you come back. If you do return, set boundaries on what you will do and when the role will be revisited or ended. Clear boundaries make for good relationships.

Help tell the story of the transition – you can create a narrative that explains why you are leaving and centers the mission and organization, not just the leader.

Does this all sound like a lot to do? It is. It’s a time-consuming process but better to prepare than not. Without it, you risk a very bumpy transition.

I recommend Tom Adams’ book, The Nonprofit Leadership Transition and Development Guide as a great introduction to leadership transitions. Community Action’s guide to succession planning also covers the subject well.

Please reach out if you’d like to chat about your own succession planning. I have many resources to share and have helped organizations create and execute their transition plans. Book a time with me on this page.

Start with the Ending

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A Guide for New Executive Directors

As a seasoned executive director, I’ve learned that the most effective leaders are those who not only excel in their current roles but also thoughtfully plan for their departure. While it may seem counterintuitive to think about leaving as you’re just beginning, a strategic approach to succession planning ensures a smooth transition and positions your organization for continued success.

Key steps to take from day one:

  • Develop relationships with all staff, board, and key partners. It’s easy to get caught up in small crises when you start a position but building relationships will allow you to make the changes you need long-term. All of the other steps will result from this initial work.
  • Conduct a comprehensive organizational assessment. This will identify quick fixes to implement right away and longer-term projects to explore.
  • Understand the finances in-depth. I create both short and long-term forecasts to help the board make realistic plans for their new executive director. I need to understand all of the funding sources and their potential for continuation
  • Implement board succession planning – including planning for term limits, filling vacancies, and recruiting officers. I often find that this has been neglected at nonprofits.
  • Explore succession planning with the board and work with them on a succession policy.
  • Create an operations manual. I document my work as I go knowing that I will be handing it off to someone else soon.
  • Start leadership development planning while assessing staff capabilities. I won’t make significant staff changes, but I will take care of any serious issues. I might suggest staff restructuring or a change in responsibilities. Or I recommend staff who are potential future leaders and how to expand their skill sets.
  • Help the board establish initial goals and evaluation processes for the new executive director so everyone is on the same page about priorities from the beginning.

Sometimes I wish I had taken my own advice. For example, it took three months to understand the complex finances at one organization where I was the interim. They had various funding sources and were paid in arrears for most of their work. I wished I had spent more time focused on what was coming in from the beginning. The board and I addressed some deferred building maintenance, but in retrospect, we should have focused more on fundraising before spending funds we didn’t have.

Remember, a well-planned departure is not just about handing over the reins; it’s about setting the stage for future success. Start with the end in mind, no matter how far off it is.

Navigating Change and Growth: My Journey at Lincoln Bike Kitchen

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Lincoln Bike Kitchen (LBK) was an organization in need of a major transition. With no staff members previously, the functioning of the nonprofit relied heavily on the dedication of its board members for all administrative and operational tasks. The Lincoln Bike Kitchen’s mission to repair donated bicycles and provide them to the community was supported by a strong volunteer base that preferred to wrench on bikes rather than manage spreadsheets. Recognizing the limitations this model presented, the board concluded that hiring staff was the essential next step towards organizational growth. At the same time, they were embarking on a capital campaign as part of an upcoming move to a larger location and needed staff support to manage the campaign details. LBK hired me as their interim executive director to help them reach their goals.

Upon joining, I met with board members to assess the needs at LBK. My agenda prioritized not only tangible improvements such as software implementation but also a cultural shift within the board to adapt to a staff-led management approach.

I set up the Bike Kitchen’s first donor database and populated it with donor information from the previous three years, after extensively cleaning the data. This enabled the Capital Campaign Committee to identify and communicate with their top donors. I also developed procedures to track and recognize donations throughout the campaign.

Another important change was switching to using QuickBooks from spreadsheets for financial management. With construction and adding staff, a spreadsheet was no longer sufficient to track all transactions and they were ready to make the change. Together with a volunteer, we set up a chart of accounts appropriate for a small organization and began tracking all income and expenses.

These were two of the concrete steps I took to prepare the organization to grow. In addition, I focused my work on helping the board transition its role from directly managing all aspects of the nonprofit to a governance-based model overseeing an executive director who would be in charge. I also implemented various changes to smooth the way for the new executive director as I anticipated that this person wouldn’t have prior ED experience. 

Some of the steps I took included:

  • Establishing regular board meetings, board packets, and board agendas
  • Updating bylaws and ensuring compliance with existing term limits
  • Trainings at board meetings about the upcoming changes with a permanent ED and how the board and an ED could work together successfully
  • Drafting fiscal policies and personnel policies

After I led the board through the hiring process, I encouraged the board and ED to work together on setting mutual goals and an evaluation process for the new ED.

Along the way, I was reminded of many lessons I’ve learned. As always, it takes longer than you think. I was in the position for about seven months. I made great progress on many fronts and helped the Bike Kitchen complete its capital campaign but wished I had more time to help build consensus about what the new ED’s role would be. Toward the end of my time, we were focused on wrapping up the capital campaign, planning for the move and selecting the new ED, and there was little time for anything else. 

I had hoped to help LBK implement improved bike tracking and communication systems but that proved to be a bigger task than we anticipated. There weren’t solutions in place that we could implement right away. 

Nevertheless, my contributions, particularly in financial acumen, non-profit governance expertise, and administrative management, were well-received by the board members. While my tenure may have been brief, the groundwork laid has paved the way for the Lincoln Bike Kitchen’s continued growth.

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Are you looking to transition your organization to having its first staff member? Or do you need to focus on a different kind of transition? Contact me to discuss ideas.



Sometimes It’s Cheaper to Hire a Search Consultant

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Engaging a professional executive search consultant can offer substantial cost benefits. This was borne out in a recent collaboration with a nonprofit board that had initially attempted to find a new executive director on their own. After months of stress, no candidates were found who were right for the position, prompting the board to enlist my expertise. I helped them find multiple highly-qualified candidates and they hired their top choice.

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Case Study: Effective Communication in a Crisis

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I was recently involved in a situation where a nonprofit had to deal with a quickly escalating negative PR issue. I learned a lot about how to manage the issue quickly and effectively.

The situation: a video was posted online that showed a board member conducting herself in a manner both contrary to organization policy and generally accepted behavior. The board member continued to add fuel to the fire in the video’s comments in an attempt to defend herself, and also publicly identified herself as a board member of the organization. The video rapidly went viral with people sharing and commenting on it from around the world. The organization’s leaders were receiving many messages demanding they do something about this board member.

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Eight Great Alternatives to Starting a Nonprofit

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Umbrella and money

Starting a nonprofit organization sounds like fun, but the reality is that it takes quite a bit of work. There are valid reasons to start a new organization, but your very first step should be extensive research to make sure the need isn’t being filled already by someone with more experience. All too often, I hear about someone starting an organization to help a village in Africa or to raise money to fight a disease. That time and money could be better spent by joining efforts with an existing group.

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