Association Leadership - March/April 2008 - (Page 17)

over his shoulder as he heads off on a retirement world cruise – but just when is the right time? And what are some of the key steps to get started? Rather than one dramatic event, succession planning should be a long-term process, one in keeping with the organization’s strategic goals and plans. David VanDelinder Bob Gallman Jon Hilsabeck It’s Never Too Soon to Start Succession planning, like any business acumen, is both art and science. Too often, organizations address the succession challenge through the rearview mirror. They wait for someone to step down, or even worse, be removed. Then and only then do they entertain thoughts of who or what should happen next. Yet, many experts recommend planning for succession begin a full decade or longer before the anticipated transition. It’s certainly never too early to plan – with more time comes more options and more time to evaluate potential successors and train them in different roles. Even if a successor is already in place, additional planning time gives him or her more time to grow into the designated role. For most organizations, the ﬁrst step is opening up a discussion. An annual budget or strategic meeting can be a natural place to start, but any time is a good time. David VanDelinder, executive director of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, says why wait? “It certainly could be part of the strategic planning exercise the board goes through, but I don’t think it has to be. It’s justiﬁed to look at it in and of itself.” With both a board of directors and an executive director, where does the responsibility for undertaking such planning lie? VanDelinder says squarely on the CEO’s shoulders. “I think it’s part of the executive director’s responsibilities, and you have to see it as part of your responsibility.” Gallman agrees. “The most difﬁcult part is making sure that the head of your organization is behind it, supporting it and pushing it,” he said. “Establishing it and getting that succession plan in place and keeping up with it is tough, and if your CEO is not really tuned into the value of that, then things are going to start to slip. You can’t just farm it out to the human resources department. That’s just not going to work.” Even with a CEO who is determined to get the succession ball rolling, bringing the topic up to the board can be tricky, says VanDelinder. “I’d say you need to have a good sense of where you want the discussion to go before you go to the board and say ‘we need to look at this,’” he said. “One way to jump-start a discussion is to ask the board to appoint a task force to look into succession. But you run the risk there of the board looking too closely at existing personnel or making decisions about them. I kind of shy away from that, because they don’t have the complete picture of all the employees. It can degenerate into a discussion of who is good and who isn’t and I think that’s a bad approach. If you do have someone in mind, and you want the support of the board, then a task force of directors that you have conﬁdence in could help the board buy into that succession plan. If you just lay this on the board and say ‘here’s the person you want to replace me with,’ you might get some push back.” Regardless of the strategy employed, creating the successful succession plan will ultimately be a shared responsibility between the executive director and the board. “And you know why that is,” said Gallman, “(it) is because should something happen or go wrong, then the board is going to have the problem. It’s almost the same as having a business resumption or disaster recovery plan in place – you lose your CEO and that’s a disaster.” Establishing a Plan Once the need to establish a plan has been agreed upon, the best place to start is by thinking about the future of the organization. The two most critical pieces of any organization’s overall being are its vision and its values. How does the organization serve its membership, and will that change? What are the core values established by the association? To make a successful transition, a new executive must ﬁt in with both the group’s mission and culture. VanDelinder says succession planning requires looking at the role of the executive director as it needs to be, not how it has been. “I think the natural tendency of most people trying to decide who would replace them is to try to ﬁnd someone like themselves,” he said. “But you really do have to ask yourself some hard questions about how the organization has changed. For example, when I was hired, there was a lot of emphasis on development of member services, which is my expertise. I didn’t have a lot of legislative or technical relations expertise, but as the organization has grown ﬁnancially, it is now more focused on public image and legislative outreach. I have adapted over the years, certainly, but I would say my successor needs a different skill set than I had.” Taking a close look at the executive director’s position may in fact reveal some hard truths. Perhaps it’s gotten to be too big a job for one person, or perhaps the salary has not stayed aligned with current expectations. Another consideration: If the plan is to hire from outside the organization, is the current board of directors prepared for and capable of taking on that time-consuming job? VanDelinder continues, “I think most executives would feel that succession planning inside is almost wholly better for the organization. But when looking at the current staff, many directors of small nonproﬁts may not be able to see anyone to assume their role. And if that’s true, then they need to be realistic about whether they can acquire that person now or do we let the board interview for a replacement March/April 2008 | Association LEADERSHIP 17

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Association Leadership - March/April 2008

Association Leadership - March/April 2008 Contents Chairman's Column Homepage 60-Second Solutions Southwest Showcase Highlights Feature: Succession Plans Interim Executives Job Documentation Coaching: A Walk in the Park Perspectives Technology Column Association Case Study Government Affairs: Focus On Electronic Resources New Members Community Spotlight Houston Index to Advertisers Advertiser.com Board of Directors

Association Leadership - March/April 2008

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