John has been a capable chair of a nonprofit board of directors for five years. He's ready to give up that post, but no one on the board wants to take over the chair's responsibilities. The organization doesn't have a system in place to groom new board leadership. John is going to leave the position next month and the executive director is frantic.

This story isn't about one particular organization, says Sharon Omahen with Innovative Charitable Solutions. It's about many organizations she has seen that failed to plan and suffered serious consequences.

"If there's a vacuum without strong board leadership, and the organization runs into a problem, whether it's a transition or a financial crisis, it really weakens the organization if no one can step up to the plate and lead," Omahen said.

Maintaining effective executive and board leadership is critical for nonprofit organizations. This means doing something that is difficult for many organizations: talking about what will happen when a director leaves. Organizations also need to have the same conversation about board members.

Omahen will cover effective strategies for succession planning in a workshop Tuesday, part of the Santa Fe Community Foundation's Technical Assistance Program.

Omahen tells the true story of what happened when an executive director died unexpectedly. The board of directors was composed of leading businesspeople. They were confident that they had the skills needed to hire a new director. They turned down offers of help from other area directors who had been through transitions. They turned down an offer from a consulting company to at least help the board talk about what kind of person they wanted next in the job.

The former director had been focused on programs, so the board members decided it needed a director focused on fundraising. They didn't look at the organizational structure or examine where they were in providing services to the community after many years of existence. They hired an executive director after about five months, expending no small amount of time and effort.

Not surprisingly, the person hired didn't work out, and in five months the position was open again. Omahen points out, "This is going to impact them with their donors and those who rely on their services. To the community, it looks like the organization isn't solid."

Whether your executive has been there one year or 20 years, succession planning is a must, Omahen says.

Workshop participants will learn key factors in leadership succession planning and strategies for managing executive transition. The session will address the importance of setting a vision for the organization. Leadership transition is a fact of life — it happens to every organization, multiple times. Planning for times of transition can make the occasion much more successful and even beneficial for the organization.

"Handled properly, transition can be a positive, motivating and rejuvenating phase of an organization's growth," Omahen said.

The workshop will cover the key phases of executive transition, the roles of staff and board members, both departing and new, and the pitfalls to avoid.

The workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. The cost of $45 per person includes lunch. Register online at www.santafecf.org and click on "workshops."

Valerie Ingram is the Development Director at the Santa Fe Community Foundation and can be reached at vingram@santafecf.org or 505-988-9715, ext. 4.