Home | About TransitionGuides & Our Services | Events | Newsletter | Ask Us a Question | Need Transition Help Now? | Executive Jobs |

Opportunities for Associations, Networks and Management Support Organizations

You are as strong and as well led as your members. You know how much leadership matters to you, your work and the work of your allied organizations.

You have also seen the pain and chaos of failed or flawed transitions. You have been in a few, and perhaps numerous conversations about how hard it is for affiliates to recruit executive directors. You look around and see an increasing number of graying and balding heads at your conferences and meetings. You sense there is, indeed, a major generational change in leadership on the horizon, but the declining stock market and extended years of life and work seem to cloud the timing and pace of the change.

If some of this is real for you, your network is not unique. Organizations dealing with community development, AIDS, the environment, health, education, developmental disabilities and many others are having these conversations.

Through investments of leading foundations and the work of networks of funders and nonprofits, there are now research-based lessons that provide new opportunities for associations and networks to add value for their members by addressing the issues of leadership transition.

There are several things that your association can do to help your members "prepare, pivot, and thrive:"

• Build Awareness and Understanding--Help your members see the value of executive transitions as a more appropriate response to today's increasingly complex leadership environment.  This might include newsletter articles or conference sessions, or custom-tailored guides carrying your association's imprint. (We can help.)
• Better Understand the Transition Issues Specific to Your Members--Each transition is unique, but there are similarities across groups.  Understanding your members' transition needs can be as simple as adding few questions to your annual survey or some focus groups, or more targeted research.  The depth of the need may surprise you.
• Consider a Formal Executive Transition Program--Depending on the size and scope of your membership, you may want to consider sponsoring a formal executive transition program.  This can be a directly-provided service or offered through a partnership with an existing provider.

Through its pioneering work with state associations of nonprofits, with the community development field, with national funders, and with management assistance organizations, TransitionGuides has developed a menu services to assist associations and networks that include:

• Researching the need: Design and delivery of surveys and data collection on leadership, human resources and transition issues with members or affiliates;
• Designing the program: Guidance in designing transition support for member organizations or affiliates; and
• Delivering results: Contract delivery of training, transition consulting and/or coaching services for organizations, executives, board leaders or potential executives.

The Alliance for Nonprofit Management (http://www.allianceonline.org/) has an affinity group for consultants and MSOs interested in executive transition management. They also typically include transition topics on the agenda for their annual conference.

Interested in learning more about executive transition management as a tool for building capacity?  Please see our Upcoming Events page.

TransitionGuides
1751 Elton Road, Suite 204 | Silver Spring, MD 20903
Phone 301-439-6635 | Fax 301-439-6638
info@transitionguides.com

© 2003-07 TransitionGuides, all rights reserved. Privacy Information.
9/28/05