"I am soon to end my tenure as president and board member of a nonprofit. The ED has been there for 40 years and does not believe in succession planning or strategic planning. Do I tell the new incoming president my concerns? It feels like founder's syndrome. Sincerely, Exit-Bound Board Member Dear Exit-Bound Board Member, First, thank you for the care embedded in your question. The fact that you're wondering how to exit with integrity, while also protecting the organization's future speaks to your leadership."
"You're naming something many nonprofit leaders have experienced but struggle to articulate, which is the tensions that arise when long-tenured founders hesitate or outright resist transition. When a long-serving executive avoids strategic or succession-related planning, their actions (or nonaction) signal an identity entanglement: The organization is me, and if I step aside, it might not survive. Such hesitation can produce a risk-filled organizational freeze, thereby stalling healthy evolution."
An outgoing board president is leaving a nonprofit whose executive director of 40 years rejects succession and strategic planning, raising concerns about founder's syndrome and organizational vulnerability. Long-tenured executives who conflate personal identity with organizational identity can block transition and create a risk-filled freeze that stalls healthy evolution. When left unaddressed, that freeze can become systemic and woven into organizational fabric. The board member asks whether to inform the incoming president about these governance risks. The coach affirms the board member's care and leadership and reframes the issue as preparing the next president to understand and address founder-dependent risks and stalled planning.
Read at Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
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