Nonprofit Leadership Transitions: Tips for Incoming and Outgoing Leaders

Can my organization properly respond to a succession emergency? Are we preparing emerging leaders to move up in the organization and fill future vacancies? Succession planning is a topic that keeps many nonprofit leaders up at night with questions like these.
In 2016, Campbell & Company interviewed over a dozen leaders in environmental and conservation organizations to explore challenges facing the sector. Succession planning emerged as a trending topic in these conversations, so we decided to dive deeper in 2018.
We spoke with 12 representatives—including board members, incoming leaders, and outgoing leaders—from five conservation-related organizations to learn about their experiences with succession planning and leadership development.