Está navegando por la planificación de sucesión en el liderazgo de organizaciones sin fines de lucro. ¿Cómo puede la retroalimentación dar forma a tu estrategia?

Feedback is crucial for good succession planning in non-profit leadership. By asking employees, volunteers, donors, and board members for their thoughts, you get a clear picture of the leadership qualities your organization values. For example, you might find that everyone appreciates leaders who are great at communication and team-building. This feedback helps you spot any gaps in your current leadership and figure out what to look for in future leaders. Plus, involving everyone in the process makes it more transparent and inclusive, so the whole team feels invested in finding the right successors.

Feedback is important for the organization to determine if a current position is needed once an employee departs the organization. Hopefully the employee participated in an exit interview and provided honest feedback about their experience while employed. This information should be reviewed by management to determine the position’s validity. Comments from senior management are helpful in developing a long-range succession strategy. Depending on the position being vacant, feedback from volunteers, Board members, and employees may be unnecessary to the succession strategy.

360 degrees feedback is instrumental in defining strengths and weaknesses of candidates, and identifying opportunity areas as well as what they can bring to a higher level. Feedback is never easy to receive, and least to give, but remains a powerful tool to self-improvement and discovery.

I own a nonprofit and I am a fundraising coordinator at another one. I can say from experience that I want the true and heartfelt feedback of those I serve. I never want to come off as disingenuous or like I’m too much of a salesman. At the end of the day this is all about peopling, and I do love doing that because I genuinely value the hearts and lives of all the folks here on this planet called Earth

Each stakeholder in your non-profit brings valuable insights for succession planning. For example, ask board members to define strategic goals and essential leadership qualities. Gather staff feedback on effective leadership styles for daily operations. Engage volunteers about the impact of leadership on community engagement. Consult donors on which traits inspire their support. By integrating these practical insights, you create a succession plan that meets real-world needs and ensures a smooth leadership transition.

Keep in mind that the feedback context can also play a role in assessing. Maybe the individual providing feedback just got a negative response from the feedback recipient, which will create a bias? Or they could have been friends for many years, thus shifting the perception as well.

Update the plan with specific details, observations, assessments and conversations. Be sure to include all stakeholders in the process in gathering information.

Be open. Let the candidates know exactly where they stand and what is improvements or new skills they need to be successful in their next career step.

The most important thing in succession planning for a nonprofit is finding individuals who both believe in and can articulate the vision for the organization. You can plan out the timing, transfer of power, organizational changes, etc. but if the new team makes a hard turn right after coming in, this offends contributors and stakeholders. In looking at who leads next, spend a great deal of time assuring they believe in the central mission of the organization and are looking for the best ways to continue its vital impact. I've seen many nonprofits with new leadership who come in with radically different ideas from day one.