Step 1: Get Started

It is easy to put off something new. To lay out all the reasons why the organization doesn’t have the resources to begin a succession planning conversation. Yet when an unplanned transition occurs, an organization often loses funding and momentum leaving the community wondering if services are dependable. Maybe the better question is, can the organization afford not to begin the conversation?

But is succession planning really something new? Succession planning is just leadership development within the internal structure of the organization. Leadership development is a critical philanthropic purpose incorporated into many nonprofits’ mission and vision statements. Take a minute to think about how new leaders increase the energy of the organization’s program and services. How leaders with lived experience change the conversation and strengthen the services they are a part of. Consider how much healthier the organization would be if it incorporated that same energy into its own functioning. How it would jump start learning and growth.

Finding the right time to talk about succession planning reminds me of the Chinese proverb on planting a tree. “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now." Starting to talk about transition when a key leader is on the way out provides little time to explore opportunities and develop a comprehensive leadership development plan. A better plan is to begin the conversation now when leadership is committed. Through these conversations the organization will build long term stability for the programs and services the community depends on. 

Now that you are ready to get started, treat this conversation as you would any other. Identify a smart core group of volunteers and staff making up a cross section of the organization. Begin to identify what skills you have within the organization and what outside expertise is needed. Evaluate where the organization is now. Develop a realistic timeline with pragmatic goals and sensible objectives. Create multiple opportunities to evaluate the process to ensure the conversation stays on track. 

The goal is to grow a pipeline of smart and capable leaders, both volunteer and staff. Once the process is started, it will build momentum and you will wonder why you waited so long to get started. The most important objective is to engage the entire organization in this endeavor and that requires organization-wide communication. Which is step 2. Onward!