Dear Exit-Bound Board Member,
First, thank you for the care embedded in your question. The fact that you’re wondering how to exit with integrity, while also protecting the organization’s future speaks to your leadership.
You’re naming something many nonprofit leaders have experienced but struggle to articulate, which is the tensions that arise when long-tenured founders hesitate or outright resist transition. When a long-serving executive avoids strategic or succession-related planning, their actions (or nonaction) signal an identity entanglement: The organization is me, and if I step aside, it might not survive. Such hesitation can produce a risk-filled organizational freeze, thereby stalling healthy evolution. Left unaddressed, the freeze grows beyond a leadership dilemma. It becomes systemic—an ailment woven into the fabric of the organization. So what now?
You’re not asking whether to confront the ED. You’re asking whether to equip the next board president with a clearer understanding of what they’re stepping into. In my view, the answer is yes. But how you do it matters.
Continue Reading
