(Is An) Exodus of Executive Directors Expected?

Here is another take on the recently released Daring to Lead 2011 report of 3000 nonprofit executive directors from www.PhilathropyJournal.org. The findings would indicate that a significant number of nonprofit executives will be leaving their roles over the next five years due to frustrations with funding, boards, and lack of work/life balance.

Highlights or Lowlights:
· Sixty-seven percent of executives plan to leave their jobs within five years, down from 75 percent in in similar studies in 2006 and 2001.

· With one in six leaders age 60 or older, for example, 22 percent of that group said a loss in their retirement savings contributed to a transition delay.

· Forty-five percent of respondents said their boards had not reviewed their performance within the past year and only 18 percent said their performance review was useful.

· Thirty-three percent of current executives followed a leader who was fired or forced to resign, "indicating the frequency of mis-hires and unclear expectations between boards and executives across the sector," the study says.

· Nonprofits are not prepared for executive transition.

· Satisfaction with board performance was lowest among leaders on the job between one and three years.

· Only 17 percent of organizations surveyed have a documented succession plan, and just 33 percent of executives were very confident their boards will hire the right successor when they leave.

· Eighty-four percent said the recession had had a negative impact on their organization. Forty-six percent said their organizations had operating reserves of less than three months of expenses.

· The study offers a series of recommendations to improve transition planning, understanding of financial sustainability, professional-development options and performance and composition of boards.
In my work, I am seeing fewer nonprofit executives targeting the traditional retirement age of 65 as their date. Even those who are ready to step out of full-time leadership roles in their late 60’s are looking for another paid role – some for the financial aspect and almost all because they value the work and the people in the nonprofit sector. If your organization doesn’t have at least a written Emergency Succession Plan, we can do a short session with your Executive Committee or board to generate some good thinking and draft a plan. Bryan 752-7153

Read the full article here.