Should You Hire an Interim Executive Director?

The following was contributed by MissionWise consultant Jeanne Anderson. Jeanne has served as Executive Director with three nonprofit organizations and as Interim Executive Director at nine.

Any time an Executive Director leaves an organization, the Board has an opportunity to consider a number of options. This is the time when the Board can think about the possibility of merging, or have a serious discussion about whether it is time to close the organization.

It is also a time when the Board can have frank discussions about what needs to be changed, improved or eliminated from the organization before a search for a new Executive Director is commenced.

In order to get this luxury of time for the Board to make decisions about the future of the organization, there needs to be leadership in place during this transitional period. In the past, many Boards have asked a staff member or a Board member to step into the position. Either one of these scenarios can be turn out to be problematic.

The Board member who steps into the Executive Director’s job may find that she is suddenly answering to, and being supervised by, her peers. They are getting involved in management decision when they should be making governance decisions. A relationship between the Board and staff can develop which might become an issue when a new Executive Director comes on board.

When a staff person is tapped to be the interim Executive Director, this too can lead to problems and confusion. Asking a staff member to step into the Executive Director role. and also assuming that they can continue to do their other job, is unrealistic. Oftentimes, the staff person applies for the position of Executive Director and the Board is faced with a dilemma if the members do not feel this individual is right for the permanent position.

When a transition in leadership occurs, it is my opinion that best decision a Board can make is to hire a professional interim Executive Director (IED). A professional IED is someone with experience in leadership transitions, who is not going to be a candidate for the job, and who can speak “truth to power”. Since this person is not auditing for the job, they can be candid with the Board and assist members in reaching the best decision for the future of the organization.

A professional IED will typically perform a comprehensive organizational assessment early in their appointment. Presenting this to the Board, agreeing on what needs to be prioritized, and how to accomplish the tasks gives the IED a road map. Whether the Board decides to explore a merger or hire a new Executive Director, it is the job of the IED to make the organization as effective as possible in order to attract a great partners or an outstanding new Executive Director.