“I think Kansas is sweet. The nonprofit leaders I’ve met care passionately about their work and their community – just kind of a no-nonsense, let’s-get-it-done approach to things,” Adams says. “I think there are many areas in which Kansas has led the region and the country in attention to leadership development.”
Adams has been a valuable voice as CCSR has developed a multi-pronged approach to helping nonprofit organizations plan for the transition of long-time or founding executives:
CCSR will provide subsidized succession and executive transition services to identified nonprofits. This will include:
Succession Basics: Emergency Backup Plan and Succession Policy
The purpose of an Emergency Backup Plan is to define and clarify short- and long-term unplanned executive absences, clarify who decides such an absence is occurring, and to state who assumes the functions and roles of the executive during the absence. The service will be provided as a stand-alone capacity building activity provided to individual organizations or incorporated into some if not all strategic planning packages. Succession policy supports this plan, institutionalizing best practices and insuring succession plans are regularly reviewed and updated.
Departure Defined Succession Planning
Departure Defined Succession Planning includes assessment of strategy, financial, systems, management/staff, board and executive readiness. Work in these “readiness” areas involves preparation for the transition, an organizational review and subsequent succession plan development, and plan implementation support.
Executive Transition Management
The goal of executive transition management is to hire an executive who meets the current and future leadership needs of the organization. In addition, the organization’s board and staff should be well-prepared to work with the new executive.
Leadership Development and Talent Management
This area includes activities designed to align resources and practices to support leader development; strengthen the capacity to manage leader development and talent management; make leader development a central part of annual operational and strategic planning; and create “bench strength” by expanding development and training opportunities for existing and emerging leaders. CCSR will support these efforts with Kansas Leadership Center principles, competencies, and concepts. CCSR will provide leadership training to address adaptive challenges faced by agencies. CCSR will facilitate a planning process to help agencies meet the technical or management related challenges. One important adaptive challenge to be addressed by organizations will be the intentional development of individuals of diverse cultures and ethnic backgrounds.
Leadership Transition Coaching
CCSR will provide coaching specifically tied to executive transitions as a stand-alone service or as part of Departure Defined and Leadership Development/Talent Management proposals. The current approach (Kansas Leadership Center Coach Training, 2010) used by CCSR will apply to this service context.
As with other organizational planning, the biggest mistake organizations can make regarding transition planning is putting it off too long because of daily deadlines.
“Transition planning has great potential,” Adams says. “I think the challenge always for the no-nonsense leaders that we desperately need is to not overlook the important but not urgent work.”
To begin a no-nonsense sustainability review and examine your own organization’s need for transition planning, contact Amy Delamaide at CCSR, 316.978.6773.
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