Hello First name / community member,
We’ve been talking to a lot of organizations about Executive Director transitions, Development Director transitions and the conversation has often ended on: who is responsible for the business of the organization? Seems like a simple question, but when you start working through it, clarity, responsibility and understanding are not always there.
In general, the board of directors “owns” the mission, vision, and strategy of an organization. Yes, a founder had an idea, but that idea became a reality when the board was created and the organization became a community-funded organization. The spirit, the intent, and the purpose of the organization became the board's and the Executive Director supported that purpose.
However, over time, the Executive Director often “owns” the business of the nonprofit. They hire, they fire, they allocate funds, they grow programs, and they connect with funders. They run the day-to-day business of the organization and running it sustainably is their work. The board has delegated this responsibility to them.
Then, the leadership team works with the Executive Director to evaluate opportunities, prepare presentations, run the numbers, ask the questions, and challenge the plan that keeps the organization functioning and the right staff in place to meet the goals. They are part of the team that makes a nonprofit successful.
In recent months, money has been harder to find or has been removed by government action. Staff have unionized. Boards are looking at closing or mergers as an option. But rarely in this challenging time do we see boards, Executive Directors, team leaders, and facilitators talking clearly about responsibility, about accountability, and about decision-making that is best for the community. Questions such as:
- Who else is doing this work?
- Who are our partners and what are they doing?
- What adjustments do we need to make in order to serve our clients?
- And can we make these adjustments?
None of those questions has blame included in them. There is sorrow, anger, frustration, exhaustion, and hope.
At NPN, we are invited in to look at a hiring process to add an employee or promote internally, and our conversations often start with:
- How is the organization doing?
- How is the team doing?
- What does your business model look like for the next 1-2 years?
We need to be transparent with candidates about the challenges as well as the opportunities. We need to share with candidates the openness of the organization to conversation, to change, to doing things differently. And we also need to share when that may not be possible, and that the candidate may be entering into an organization at a time of fear and exhaustion.
Our goal is to find individuals who believe in your mission, but also have the tools, the resiliency, and the interest in working through the issues. Whatever they may be. This is why we suggest interim leadership. This is why we may ask for additional information that we can share with candidates.
One thing you can do as an Executive Director or as a board member: add clarity to the roles and responsibilities of the board and leadership. Understand who is making decisions, why they are making decisions, and what your role is in supporting these decisions. Not to blame anyone, but to offer support at a time when there seems to be so little.
