Why Nonprofit Transitions Fail

Barry Dym, Susan Egmont, and Laura Watkins

Leadership transitions, even successful ones, are rarely smooth. A number of difficulties that can be expected during the transition period are not so much due to faulty governance or planning, but are natural to any major change effort. These difficulties can be anticipated and managed. In the midst of new anxiety over the future of the organization, people will be asked to do additional work and create new teams around tasks many have not done before. They will be asked to take leadership in different ways and to play unfamiliar roles.

Unforeseen events inevitably influence the board’s deliberations and progress. A transition team member gets sick, for example, and meeting ...