By James Rajanayagam
James Rajanayagam is an innovation consultant and focuses on innovative solutions for the removal poverty through economic, cultural and political domains.
Recently, I met the founder of a small, but great Indian NGO working in the area of family development. The NGO is more than 25 years old and has worked with communities in the neighborhood areas and is well respected by national and international donors for its advocacy work. The founder, in her late fifties, revealed to me that she fears there will be no one to lead the NGO after she retires. It surprised me that such a well run and well funded organization, with an excellent reputation, was so unprepared for its future leadership.
This is likely not an exception, but the rule among NGOs in India and beyond, particularly for small to medium-sized NGOs operating in local areas with tight budgets. I have come across many NGOs that are founder-driven with limited professional support. The relationship of the founder with beneficiaries and donors is often great, the work they do outstanding, but the focus on long-term sustainability lacking.
How can NGOs avoid a leadership vacuum when the founder comes to the end of her career? How can the NGO groom new leadership to take the mission forward into the future? A few basic tips can help answer these questions:
1) Be Honest and Open – Many NGO leaders avoid the topic of succession. Many continue to do an excellent job and are unwilling to thin ahead about the day when their capacity to perform slowly declines. Current leaders need to force themselves to confront the issue. For example, they can fix a timeline for their so-called retirement from daily operations. This can be a gradual process in which the founder can still act as an advisor and mentor.
2) Identify Potential – Once a succession timeline is in place, the NGO can identify leaders within the organization and provide opportunities for them to take on some leadership responsibilities, helping them grow into the role. If no such potential exists it is important to attract talent to the organization that can take on this role.
3) Grow New Leaders – The potential leader(s) should not just be a clone of the founder, copying everything the founder would do, but take her own path, making her own mistakes This will create the space for potential leaders to develop their own leadership style and increase their commitment to the future of the organization. The NGO should also create an organization that grows vertically and horizontally, and is able to adapt quickly and remain relevant in which future leaders can grow.
To implement a succession plan successfully requires a change in organizational behavior and attitude. Though it is useful to develop a proper succession plan, the fundamental requirement is the willingness of the leader to plan for future leadership and share authority.
