Nonprofit Founders: Handing off the Leadership Torch?

One of the most difficult decisions that a Founder can make it is to hire an inaugural CEO, President, or Executive Director to run the organization. As an entrepreneur myself, I know you built your organization through blood, sweat, and sheer will. How can you possibly find someone else who shares your passion, commitment, and drive?

You Aren't Looking for You

I will be honest – you probably will not find another “you”.? And you know what? You don’t want one. You are looking for a leader because you have grown the organization to this point yourself, and now you want someone to scale it to the next level. You may have made this decision for a variety of reasons. You want to focus on the work, but in a different capacity than you have been as a daily operator or without the focus on fundraising and administration. Or you know that the organization and the team really need someone with a different skillset to continue to grow. What will replacing yourself free you up to do and how will that impact both the organization and you personally?

Whatever the reason may be - it is time to find the right person to elevate your organization to the next level of scale and impact. Over the years I have helped numerous founders hire a new leader, and I have learned a few concrete lessons that I would like to share. Here are 4 things to make sure you keep in mind when hiring an Inaugural CEO, President, or Executive Director.

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1. Value and Mission Alignment

This may seem obvious, but it is easy to lose track of this alignment when you get into the nitty-gritty of someone’s experience and skillset.? The first thing to gauge is whether the person is passionate about the impact your organization strives to create.? Do their actions stem from a deep-seated belief regarding the cause or are they just looking to lead an organization of a certain size and type?

You can assess this in many ways. Look at their prior experience – have they been working in this space already? Have they volunteered in this space in their free time? You can also ask why they are looking to enter the space. When they answer, you will clearly be able to tell if there is a deep, authentic motivation that is driving them or not.

Does this person share the values that you consider vital to the organization’s DNA? Without thinking about it or necessarily writing them out on a wall, your values have implicitly and explicitly formed the culture of your organization and been the inspiration and guardrails for your team. This is why mission and value-alignment come first – they are the most essential thing to evaluate in your prospective leader.

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2. Leadership Characteristics

You know all the major stakeholders involved in your organization – the leadership, the broader team, volunteers, funders, and the community that you impact.? What is the right leadership and personality profile for the role?

First, are you planning on holding the vision/strategy of the organization and hiring a leader who is going to implement that strategy with the team?? Or are you looking for someone who will create and implement the strategy to grow the organization? These are two very different profiles, and one will not be happy or successful in the role of the other.

Second, is the leader the outside face of the organization, or is their management of the internal team most important? A role whose primary function is fundraising, press, and managing the board will require a charismatic extrovert, and this profile may not necessarily be the best person for creating team harmony.?

Are you looking for someone who is self-directed? Independent or team-centric? A rapid decision-maker, or a more research-oriented and thoughtful one?

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3. Technical Skills

Hiring teams will often look for someone who has done the same job at another organization in the same field to ensure they have the right technical skills. But many skills are either transferable or can be learned rapidly.

Take a moment to decide what skills are essential for this person to be effective. Do they need to have experience managing a certain size budget or with stakeholder management?

Do they need to have certain technological proficiency – software, digital marketing, systems, etc? In some cases, specific certifications or advanced education would be valuable. For example, a CPA or legal degree would provide a needed base for a leader in an organization that offers investment or legal support to underserved communities. A certificate in nonprofit fundraising would offer a valuable skillset for a leader whose primary responsibility is growing organizational capacity.

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4. The Order Matters

All 3 of the above are very important when hiring an inaugural CEO, President, or Executive Director. And just as important is the order in which you evaluate them.? First, look for someone who aligns with the mission and organizational values. Then ensure that the person has the right leadership characteristics and profile based on all of the stakeholders involved.? And finally make sure that they have the right technical skills needed to perform their role and scale the organization.

Many hiring teams will choose to emphasize technical skills. Sometimes, they can vocalize the importance of values, mission, and leadership profile, but they default to screening and interviewing based on technical skills because it is much easier. I would remind you here that a strong leader who is a fast learner can quickly assimilate most technical skills, but it is much harder and sometimes impossible for a person selected for their skills to cultivate the values or leadership profile needed for the organization.

Hiring a new leader for the organization will be one of the most important decisions you ever make. The process will open up a great deal of reflection and require you to think hard about what it will take to grow the team and impact to the next level. If you do it well, however, you will ensure that your organization continues to serve its mission and have a massive impact for generations to come.

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About Us

If you want to discuss hiring a new leader for your organization, reach out to me at? [email protected] . ?We will schedule a no-cost, no obligation 30-minute consultation to discuss how to meet your goals.

Maneva Group is a?woman and minority owned?national?Executive Search firm focusing on the social sector,?with expertise in completely managing the recruiting process, curating diverse and exceptionally qualified candidate pools,?and advising C-suite executives and board members through crucial hiring decisions.??