Nonprofit Leadership Transitions and Organizational Sustainability

An Updated Approach that Changes the Landscape

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017

2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT      

Executive transitions, we are warned must be taken very seriously because a wrong hire can erode cash, reputation, relationships and much more – it is very high stakes we are told – an inflection point with enormous consequences. But is this narrative necessarily true? Or is there in fact more to the story?  Yes, executive transitions are powerful lever points. And they are even more powerful when not viewed in isolation.  Are there other ways we could think about leadership succession that would limit the occasion of harm, help diversify top leadership, smooth out bumps and, in fact, steadily increase the organization’s leadership quotient internally and amongst its peers on a more consistent basis?

There are, but it requires a different way of thinking – a shift from episodic attention to some dimension of leadership to connecting the dots with powerful results.

NPQ is proud to present this groundbreaking webinar is featuring two of the nonprofit sector’s most well-known experts on executive transition – Jeanne Bell of CompassPoint and Tom Adams of Raffa, P.C. They will discuss three critical “paradigm shifts” nonprofits should make in thinking about succession planning and executive transition. A collection of four papers will come with this presentation. 

Webinar presenter: Jeanne Bell

Jeanne Bell is the Chief Executive Officer at CompassPoint. As CEO, Jeanne leads an integrated practice of twenty-four people who use teaching, coaching, consulting, peer learning, and research to advance social equity work in the Bay Area, throughout California, and across the country. She is a leading thinker and engaging national speaker on nonprofit finance and strategy. She supports CompassPoint clients as they set and adapt strategies to better respond to their constituents and to a dynamic operating environment.

Jeanne is also very active in the nonprofit sector’s infrastructure—committed not only to the success of CompassPoint and its clients, but to the vibrancy of the progressive sector's essential scaffolding. To this end, Jeanne serves on both the board of directors and the editorial advisory board of The Nonprofit Quarterly and has contributed numerous articles on finance and strategy to the publication. 

Webinar presenter: Tom Adams

Tom Adams is a Director in the Sustainability, Succession and Transition Planning practice for Raffa, P.C., Prior to joining Raffa, Tom served as president and co-founder of TransitionGuides, a national consulting and educational services company based in Silver Spring, MD, that advised nonprofits on leadership succession, executive searches, and transition management.

Tom and the Raffa  team have assisted more than 400 local, regional, and national nonprofits from a wide variety of missions. He has served nonprofits as an executive director and consultant for more than 30 years. Tom has led leadership and capacity-building projects for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, as well as other national and local foundations. A national leader, speaker, and trainer on leadership and leadership topics, he has published extensively, including his book, The Nonprofit Leadership Transition and Development Guide: Proven Paths for Leaders and Organizations. He has a particular interest in coaching and consulting with founders and long-term executive directors/CEOs.

Can't attend the live webinar? Register anyway and we'll send you the recording!  

You can send your questions to editorinchief@npqmag.org to have them answered during the web event. 

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