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Succession Planning

Is Your Team Prepared?

By Business Consulting, Family Businesses, Newsletters, Nonprofit, Privately Held, Strategy, Succession Planning
Planning Ahead

Is Your Team Prepared?

As you plan for next year, consider what your people need to carry those plans forward.

If your most reliable employee were out for six weeks, what would stop? The answer says a lot about how ready your team is for next year.

I once worked with a technology director who knew an organization’s systems inside and out. He was a founding employee and built many of those systems himself. Two junior employees worked alongside him, but he still held much of the knowledge.

As part of business continuity planning, the organization identified that gap. The director documented key processes, trained his colleagues, and gave them opportunities to handle situations independently. About two years later, he left to start his own business. The team was ready. Critical functions continued, and one of the remaining employees moved into a management role.

“It was a disappointment, but it wasn’t a panic.”

That preparation protected the organization. It also gave employees the experience they needed to take the next step in their careers. As you plan for 2027, how prepared is your team for what comes next?

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Nonprofit Succession Planning: A Practical Guide for Nonprofit Leaders

By Board Development, Nonprofit, Strategy, Succession Planning
Webinar

Leadership transitions do not always come with a long runway.

An executive director may retire after years of service. A senior leader may accept another opportunity. A health issue or other unexpected event may create an immediate gap.

That is why nonprofit succession planning should begin before anyone announces a departure.

Succession planning is not simply choosing the next CEO or executive director. It is the work of making sure an organization can continue operating, retain important knowledge, and make thoughtful leadership decisions when change eventually comes.

That was the focus of a recent Warren Whitney nonprofit roundtable facilitated by Katherine Whitney, Co-Founder of Warren Whitney. Katherine has more than 35 years of experience working with organizations, with a practice focused almost entirely on nonprofits. She regularly works with boards and management teams on executive searches, board development, and strategic planning.

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Leaders discussing succession planning and preparation for a leadership transition.

Six Steps For Succession Planning

By Business Consulting, Family Businesses, Newsletters, Nonprofit, Privately Held, Strategy, Succession Planning
Planning Ahead

Six Steps For Succession Planning

Succession planning and leadership changes impact all organizations, but a successful transition involves more than choosing the next leader. An owner’s exit impacts leadership, staff, customers, family, finances, and the company’s future. Neglecting these factors can lead to systemic challenges, even with a good successor. Planning should start early to allow leaders to improve the organization, prepare successors, and make informed decisions about the future.

Here are six questions worth answering well before the transition begins.
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August 2024: Succession Planning; Part II

By Business Consulting, Newsletters, Strategy, Succession Planning


Board Development, BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer

Written by: Katherine Whitney

Our July newsletter focused on what should be an ongoing succession planning effort to develop the next group of potential leaders for your organization. That is a central part of ensuring smooth transitions in leadership so that, when changes occur, the organization can have a smooth transfer of job responsibilities.

But “what if?”  What if someone in a key position leaves without notice either permanently or for an extended period without a successor in place? There can be many reasons for this, and the organization can suffer regardless of the reason. The following are five steps that you should take in advance to help your organization navigate an unexpected transition.

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January 2021: Four Succession Planning Steps

By Business Consulting, Human Resources, Succession Planning

Four Succession Planning Steps for 2021

Generally, businesses have two sources of irreplaceable knowledge – people and database(s). If either is lost, years of insight can be erased in an instant, forcing companies to learn a hard lesson. While organizations recognize the need to implement data backups, fewer see the critical nature of developing a succession plan. The key to successful succession plans is not waiting for signs a transition is needed, but proactively developing a plan and options. This will ensure knowledge is shared from person to person long before any departure and that your company is prepared for the future.

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