Ingrid Kirst Consulting
Nonprofit Leadership Transition Consultant
Scheduling meetings with people outside our organization can be a hassle. There are many tools out there. Many people use Doodle but there are alternatives.
I’ve compiled a list of good free options below: [Read more…] about Online Meeting Schedulers
Understanding how we cope with change can make a huge difference in how we implement changes in our nonprofits and in our lives. Using William Bridges’ Transition Model, we look at the advantages to being in an uncertain time.
The chair of a nonprofit board has significant power to shape the organization, but all too often, that chair is not prepared to lead. More often than we’d like to admit, the previous board chair needed to step down unexpectedly and someone without training reluctantly takes the position. In a recent study, over half the respondents reported they did nothing to prepare for their role as a board chair. The new board chair is frustrated because they aren’t sure what to do. The executive director is frustrated because they have an ineffective board chair. The rest of the board members start pulling back and don’t want to attend meetings. None of this helps the organization grow.
It’s unfortunate since a great board chair has a real opportunity to make a positive difference for the organization. They can inspire their fellow board members to do their best and support the executive director tremendously. Board chairs need to have a wide range of skills, especially when working with others. They also need to have the time to focus on the board and the organization. The process of choosing the next board chair should be deliberate, but it is too often made in a time of panic as the previous chair leaves. [Read more…] about Developing Great Board Chairs
The possibility of a long-term trusted and high performing executive director leaving their position is a scary prospect for most boards. It can be made more manageable by intentional planning and open discussions. In addition, taking the time to explore succession planning and leadership development now will benefit the organization immediately through reduced workloads, better-trained staff, and the opportunity for future growth.
Through a new program called Successful Transitions, Lincoln organizations developed their plans and prepared for the future. The first Successful Transitions cohort consisted of six nonprofit organizations. One has an executive director who had a firm retirement date less than a year away. Two others have founding executive directors considering retirement someday in the future, but knew they needed to put plans in place for a smooth transition. The other three have no departure plans but understood that succession planning would benefit the entire organization now and in the future. There was also a wide range of organization size (staff sizes between 1 and 75) and executive director tenure (2 to 40+ years). [Read more…] about Successful Transitions – a program that works
In this video, I cover all of the basics of succession planning. It’s an important tool for long term sustainability for nonprofit organizations. Contact me and I’ll be happy to help you develop your own organization’s succession plan.
Change is Hard! How to Make It Easier for Everyone
We all deal with changes in different ways. What significantly affects one person is no big deal to another. The same event has various impacts on different people. For example, someone leaving a job will be thrilled at the new opportunities coming, while a co-worker is devastated to lose a fantastic colleague. At an organization with a new executive director starting, one of her program managers could be excited at the chance to work with someone new, while another manager is afraid of someone coming in and demanding to run programs in a new way.
Change is especially evident when an executive director leaves their position. This transition will affect everyone’s work load and level of comfort, but often people expect that a change is affecting others the same way as it does them. I often see this when a board has known about an upcoming departure for a month or longer, and staff don’t. When the staff are told, board members expect them to be ready to move on to the next step right away, forgetting that they also needed time to process this change. [Read more…] about Change is Hard