Nonprofit leadership transition planning should begin long before an executive announces a departure! Erin Rodenbiker and Joan Brown of Third Sector Company explain why professional interim leadership can help nonprofits protect mission continuity, strengthen operations, and prepare for a better permanent hire.
For many nonprofit boards, “interim” still sounds like emergency management — somebody brought in because something went wrong. Joan challenges that assumption with three remarkably simple words: “Everybody leaves.” Leadership transition is not a possibility to avoid discussing. It is an eventual organizational reality worth planning for. Instead of scrambling after a resignation, retirement, sabbatical, or founder departure, nonprofit leaders can determine in advance when an interim executive makes sense, who has decision-making responsibility, and what the organization needs during the transition.
Erin adds another important reality: “In reality, these tools can only get you so far. You need a person.” Succession plans, guides, and policies matter, but someone must still lead staff, maintain direction, communicate with stakeholders, and move the plan into operation.
The numbers discussed are revealing. Third Sector Company describes a network of approximately 800 people trained for transitional leadership, while Erin notes that an interim assignment may span roughly six to nine months, depending on the organization.
Most importantly, the interim is not there simply to “keep the lights on.” Joan says a successful engagement should leave the nonprofit positioned to attract, hire, and retain the right permanent leader. That begins with assessment: policies, HR records, organizational gaps, staff realities, board alignment, and the conditions the next executive will inherit.
Key Takeaways:
* Treat executive transition as a predictable governance responsibility, not an unexpected crisis.
* Discuss interim leadership before a departure becomes imminent or emotionally charged.
* Do not automatically assign already-stretched staff or board members to run the organization.
* Begin an interim engagement with an organizational assessment before recruiting the permanent leader.
* Measure interim success partly by the quality and retention of the organization’s next executive hire.
* Use leadership transitions to challenge “we’ve always done it that way” and prepare the organization for what comes next.