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.
