ExEcutivE SummariESof the 2009-2010 Robert H.B. Baldwin Fellows Work Projects

With support from

Build ing a TalenT P iPel ine Carole Levine

execuT ive leadershiP develoPmenT Maxine Elliott

success ion Planning & leadershiP TransiT ion

Judy Frick

success ion Planning & leadershiP TransiT ionJudy Frick

1Build ing a TalenT P iPel ineCarole Levine

execuT ive leadershiP develoPmenTMaxine Elliott3

7This report and the Robert H.B. Baldwin Fellows Program are made possible through a generous grant from MetLife Foundation.Copyright © 2011 Communities In Schools. All rights reserved.

Contents

H ow does one “function at the edge of the present and the future”? This is a critically important question for the leaders, both staff and board, of nonprofit

organizations. Great leadership is complex and multi-faceted. And great leaders pay attention to and engage with all aspects of their organizations. Key among those is talent pipelining and talent development.

For the purposes of this report, talent pipelining is defined as the process of finding people within and outside of an organization with potential and skills that can be nurtured to bring value to the organization’s mission, vision and outcomes. Talent management is a strategy and, in implementation, a process guiding all aspects of staff and volunteer development.

Much has been written on talent pipelining and talent management, particularly in the last 15 years, in light of gen-erational changes, shifts in workplace culture and fluctuations and changes in the economy. The objectives of this paper are to bring strategic recommendations on talent pipelining and talent development to Communities In Schools and to offer strategic options to the Communities In Schools network so that it can build capacity by attracting, retaining and develop-ing the most talented people as both staff and volunteers at the local, state and national levels.

Because it was necessary to understand the state of the non-profit sector in terms of talent development and to look beyond Communities In Schools in order to gain a broad perspective, the methodology involved five components: interviews with other national nonprofit organizations and experts on talent development and related topics; an extensive literature review of books, articles, websites, blogs, monographs, surveys and other written materials; a survey of leaders in the Communities In Schools network; interviews with staff at all levels of the Communities In Schools network; and participation in courses and symposia to expand the knowledge base around this topic.

The findings garnered through the research activities are grouped into five thematic areas: age, geography, gender, race, organization/structure and the “magic” attraction of Communi-ties In Schools. In each area, the views of Communities In Schools leaders and employees are explored as well as broader nonprofit and even broader organizational views of those factors and how they affect talent pipelining and management.

The state of talent pipelining in the Communities In Schools network is not strong. Good people with great skills come to work for Communities In Schools, but they often do not stay or they stay, but are not challenged to develop their talents or to move up the career ladder. Project findings

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If nonprofits want to remain relevant and viable, they must function at the edge of the present and the future. They must not only adapt to their environments but also shape these environments to create productive change. Strategies must be fast moving, flexible and continuously experimental.Ruth McCambridge Nonprofit Quarterly, Spring 2009

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indicated that employees and volunteers who start at schools and site-level positions in local Communities In Schools affiliates do not understand that they are part of a larger network and often look beyond Communities In Schools for new, higher- level and more challenging positions. Communities In Schools can do more to engage high-performing individuals and provide them with a better sense that Communities In Schools is an organization where they could stay and grow.

Four key principles that lead to successful talent devel-opment strategies were identified through this project. Action strategies are recommended to attract and keep high-performing people that incorporate these concepts. They are:

1 Intentionality:� Organizations might be “lucky enough” to attract good people, but keeping them requires

intentionality. In an interview with Ken Williams, director of New Voices National Fellowship Program at the Academy for Educational Development (AED), he said, “Intentionality is the difference between management and leadership and can make the difference in attracting and keeping talented staff and volunteers.”

2 Sector Agnosticism:� Younger employees often come to the nonprofit sector to do “good work,” not to

work for a particular organization. And in tough economic times, employees from every generation may find themselves less committed to an organization and more committed to remaining in the nonprofit sector. The thoughtful, future- focused organization will be constantly checking in with people and looking for ways to build their skills, while building their connections to the organization’s mission and work.

3 Flexibility:� In interviews with Communities In Schools employees across the country, flexibility was the critical

factor for people in attracting them to an organization that might not pay them much and that had few or no benefits. Flexibility means something to employees and while it will not pay their rent or cover their doctor bills, it does give them a better quality of life and time for their personal priorities. Flexibility will attract good people and it can help to keep them.

4 Customization:� One size does not fit all. Not all of the steps that are taken to nurture talent will apply to all

people. The challenge is also to find those appropriate action strategies that will work for an organization’s future needs and not just to plug holes in its current situation. How that is done will not be the same across the Communities In Schools network.

In the final section of this report, the action strategies that can be implemented to attract and keep the best and the brightest in Communities In Schools are described. These strategies fall into the following categories: program, policy, organizational structure and new ways to develop talent. Some of these strategies can be implemented with little cost in dollars or time, and some will require long-term strategic thinking and greater commitments of human capital and funds. Any strategy worthy of consideration should align with Communities In Schools strategic plans and should focus on the future of the organization. Some of the action strategies that will be suggested are universal and can be considered and utilized by any Communities In Schools affiliate at any level of the organization or by any nonprofit. And some of them will be more applicable to specific types of affiliates, such as rural affiliates or large urban ones.

A key purpose of this work is to elevate the place of talent development and talent pipelining as a critical function of Communities In Schools and of all nonprofit organizations. This is not just about professional development or the devel-opment of senior leaders. Talent development is a mission-critical process and applies to all levels of organizations. When organizations have the right people on the bus, and in the right positions, they can move an organization forward.

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A lthough professional leadership in nonprofits is arguably one of the most important factors leading to successful organizations, investing in leadership development is generally viewed as a low priority.

P eople are “often the most important assets of these organizations,” says Linda Wood, senior director for leadership and grantmaking at the Evelyn and

Walter Haas, Jr. Fund in San Francisco. “And yet the nonprofit culture that we’re all a part of makes investing in people a secondary or tertiary concern.”1

That mindset, however, is starting to give way to a new culture that values human capital and recognizes the need, even in a tough economy, to commit resources to building that capital. Kathleen Enright, president and CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations in Washington, D.C., says that while dollars for professional development “are often the first to be cut,” they represent “some of the most important dollars you can spend in the current economic climate…Nonprofits’ ability to perform at a high level, particularly in the troubled and changing economy, is directly tied to their investment in professional development,” Enright says.2

In a Special Report on Professional Development from the Philanthropy Journal,3 comments from leaders in the non-profit sector confirm that leadership development is more than training executive leaders on how to manage their organizations. “Organizations tend to focus their profes-sional development efforts on specific areas like fundraising and marketing, a perspective that can be limiting,” says Barry Silverberg, president and CEO of the Texas Association

1 Todd Cohen, “Coping with Change to Spur Training,” Philanthropy Journal, Special Reports: Professional Development, May 2010, p. 1. 2 Ibid, p. 1-2.3 Ret Boney, “Leadership Skills Paramount in Wake of Recession,” Philanthropy Journal, Special Reports: Professional Development, May 2010, p. 1.

of Nonprofit Organizations. “The challenge before the sector is to think long-term and strategically, as opposed to dealing with what’s right in front of us,” continues Silverberg.4

Leadership Development at Communities In Schools

Historically, the Communities In Schools national office has focused its training for executive directors on management skills, previously with Multi-Track Training and more recently with the development of the Standards and Evidence-Based Curriculum (SEBC), but with little attention given to devel-oping leadership skills. Now is the time to shift our focus to building strong leaders.

The shortage of executive leaders to fill the nonprofit leadership positions anticipated to be vacated by retiring baby boomers has long been predicted. The most obvious need for leadership development is to ensure a ready supply of strong and visionary leaders. If having a sufficient number of visionary, effective leaders for the nonprofit community is a critical need, then clearly leadership development matters. Less hyped, but equally critical, is the need to ensure that current leaders in the nonprofit sector are sufficiently prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.

4 Ibid, p. 1.

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eXeCUtIVe leAdeRsHIp deVelopMent Maxine elliott

Very few resources through Communities In School have been focused on developing leadership skills (versus management skills) for those designated to fill the leadership role. Responses from the interviews and the online survey conducted as part of this project provide insight into how those in the Communities In Schools network view leadership and uncovered many issues requiring attention at the local, state and national levels of Communities In Schools.

The intent of this report is to recommend a comprehensive process for increasing the capacity of those in executive positions in the Communities In Schools network to lead, guide and direct the people and organizations which they head. Communities In Schools is committed to developing leadership in order to build strong organizations to serve students and schools.

Report Methodology

Getting to strategic recommendations for executive leadership development for Communities In Schools involved a multi-pronged strategy: interviews with leaders of other nonprofit organizations and experts on leadership transition and related topics; an extensive literature review of books, articles, websites and other written materials; a survey of and interviews with leaders in the Communities In Schools network; and participa-tion in courses and symposia to expand the knowledge base around this topic. Each of these components yielded quality information that helped to shape the strategic recommenda-tions that comprise the end products of this work. Each served to reinforce the others and together provide directions and options for Communities In Schools on executive leadership development.

Findings

After an extensive review of literature and participating in webinars and classes related to leadership and leadership development, common themes emerged again and again. These essential traits of effective leaders can be separated into three complementary components.

First, virtually all of the literature related to developing strong organizational leaders focuses on the crucial aspect of leading change. The prevailing theme throughout the research is that leaders need to be the change agents in their organ-izations and in their communities. Managing change may have been sufficient in the past, but leading change will ensure that Communities In Schools affiliates are in a position to meet future challenges. It is no longer enough to look at what is happening today and to be satisfied with the status quo. Leaders must look at the current environment and under-stand its implications for the future, and take the lead in determining future direction.

Second, many of the competencies that leaders must pos-sess in order to be change leaders are in the domain of “soft skills,” particularly emotional intelligence and those that fall in the category of “principled leadership.” Although levels of high intelligence and technical knowledge continue to be key characteristics that cannot be overlooked, competencies such as fairness and equity, justice, integrity, trust, ethical behavior and emotional intelligence are equally important.

Last, leaders who are willing to acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, and make self-awareness an ongoing process with an effort to learn how to build upon their strengths and overcome their weaknesses, are the ones who will be most effec-tive. While embracing continuous learning for themselves, they will also develop a culture of learning in their organizations.

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eXeCUtIVe leAdeRsHIp deVelopMent Maxine elliott

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Core Competencies

Each of these themes is critical to effective leadership and each requires certain core competencies—knowledge, skills and personal attributes—to be successful.

Leadership Core Competencies

leading change sofT skills self-awareness/conTinuous learning

cogniTive flexiBiliTy

emoTional inTelligence

awareness of Personal and leadershiP sTrengThs

emoTional flexiBiliTy

inTegriTy awareness of Personal and leadershiP weaknesses

disPosiTional flexiBiliTy

fairness and equiTy awareness of imPacT of Personal sTyle on oThers

PosiTioning for emerging environmenTs

JusTice commiTmenT To conTinuous learning and self-masTery

influencing oThers TrusT

eThical Behavior

Management Core Competencies

While there is a clear difference between management and lead-ership that is necessary to understand, both are important for successful leadership of a Communities In Schools local affiliate. Management competencies are particularly important to take into consideration when providing training to new or emerging executive leaders.

Management competencies necessary for Communities

In School leadership include:�

V Self:� Using time efficiently and being technologically proficient.V Organization:� Staying committed to the Communities

In Schools mission, understanding and implementing the Communities In Schools Model, using the Total Quality System (TQS) and Data Management System (CISDM)1, advocating for clients, fundraising and marketing, evaluating efforts, developing board of directors, recruiting talent, managing finances, taking advantage of Communities In Schools state and national support.V Community:� Keeping up with youth issues and trends,

knowing community organizations and school system operations and leadership, maintaining awareness of local and state resources, developing community partnerships.

Learning opportunities must be in alignment with the core competencies identified as necessary for a Communities In Schools leader.

1 The Total Quality System (TQS) is used as a yardstick for continuous quality improvement and growth throughout the Communities In Schools network. The goal of TQS is to ensure uniform quality and improved out-comes for the students we serve. CISDM is the Communities In Schools Data Management System.

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Recommendations

The information gathered from the Communities In Schools network, experts in the leadership development field and other nonprofit organizations, and an extensive literature review led to the strong recommendation for the Communities In Schools national office to devise a development strategy for the network leadership. The following sets of recommendations can provide a guide for this strategy.

Because no one single activity will cover all the leadership needs for the entire Communities In Schools network, the multiple recommendations below provide sufficient choice for ways to meet all those needs.

It is recommended that Communities In Schools provide access to relevant resources, which can be found both inside Communities In Schools and from outside organizations, for all of the core competencies. Some information is available in the Communities In Schools’ Standards and Evidence-Based Curriculum (SEBC). Other resources are accessible, often for free, from organizations that are innovators in the leadership development field.

The recommendations include:�

V Create a certification or other leadership development program for emerging and experienced leaders (additional information, including a sample agenda, is in Appendix C).V Provide opportunities for team building and

peer support.V Create reflection opportunities to build self-awareness.V Develop a coaching program/system.V Organize site visits with other leaders.V Supply funding for participation in external leadership

development programs.V Evaluate the effectiveness of leadership strategies.

Conclusion

Developing skilled and visionary leaders is crucial to the non-profit sector in general, and to Communities In Schools in particular. An executive leadership development strategy that is well designed and implemented will help ensure a ready supply of these leaders for the Communities In Schools network. The leadership development strategy will need to focus on developing the core competencies identified as vital for an effective leader, and include components for both emerging and experienced leaders. It should also include a range of elements that appeal to different styles of learning, such as in-person sessions, site visits, reflection activities, coaching, networking, team building and peer support opportunities. In this way, Communities In Schools can continue to achieve its mission of surrounding students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

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Leadership transition and succession planning involve far more than just replacing a leader. Planning is like an insurance policy for the organization that will permit it to go forward.

sUCCessIon plAnnIng And leAdeRsHIp tRAnsItIon JuDY FRiCK

H aving a plan ensures that the organization is in good shape—systems in place, information accessible, updated strategic plan. P lanning means knowing

where the key to the storage room is, knowing the access codes to financial information and having information about donors in an electronic database rather than in the executive’s head. Further, it creates a plan for leadership and talent recruitment, and development for the executive staff at a minimum. Planning provides for cross training and fulfilling the Communities In Schools Total Quality System (TQS) standards.1

The board plays the key role in succession and transition activities. It creates the succession and transition plans and leads the search and transition activities. Staff needs to be involved as well and key stakeholders may also play a role. Succession planning and leadership transition should involve the whole organization, not just a small part of it. Further, the Commu-nities In Schools national office and state offices play a key role in supporting transitions by providing guidance and support in all phases of the process from hiring to the actual transition.

For the purposes of this report, leadership transition is de-fined as the departure of the chief executive of an organization and the departure of those in other staff and board leadership positions. Succession planning is a process that focuses on leadership and staff development throughout the organization and ensures a smooth transition among all key staff and board members. It includes putting systems in place that make organizational sustainability possible.

1 The Total Quality System (TQS) is a set of operational and business standards used as a yardstick for continuous quality improvement and growth throughout the Communities In Schools network. The goal of TQS is to ensure uniform quality and improved outcomes for the students we serve.

Developing strategic recommendations and creating a toolkit for leadership transition and succession planning for Commu-nities In Schools involved a multi-pronged strategy: interviews with other national nonprofit organizations and experts on leadership transition and related topics; an extensive literature review of books, articles, websites and other written materials; a survey of leaders in the Communities In Schools network; interviews with 66 Communities In Schools leaders at all levels; and participation in courses and symposia to expand the knowl-edge base around this topic. Each of these components, in addition to my own transition experience, yielded quality information that helped to shape the strategic recommendations and toolkit that comprise the end products of this work.

While there is a great deal of leadership transition in the Communities In Schools network, very few affiliates or state offices are engaging in intentional succession planning and strategic leadership development. Many have indicated that these activities are on their agendas, but less than 10 percent of those interviewed for this project have current written plans. Further, executives and board members have limited understanding of what is involved. Many think only in terms of a successor to the executive and the search. The situation becomes especially grave when one considers how many founding and long-term executives currently head our affiliates and state offices. Without thoughtful planning and preparation, their successors are less likely to be permanent replacements and may become “unintentional interims.”

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A failed leadership transition incurs costs at many levels beyond our ability to serve students. One source estimated the cost to be ten times the executive’s base salary. Think about the massive amounts of staff and board members’ time invested in recruiting and training a new leader or the loss of major donor and funder relationships when the transition fails. Or what about missed opportunities for funding or expansion? What happens when community confidence and staff morale crumble as the affiliate deteriorates? Staff and board turnover can be debilitating. How long does it take for an organization to recover and move forward?

The findings garnered through the research activities identified the essential succession planning basics — the mini-mum that any organization should have:

1 A leadership succession policy describing what will happen during a planned or unplanned leadership transition;

2 An emergency succession plan ensuring that key leader-ship and administrative functions, as well as agency services,

can continue without disruption in the event of an unplanned, temporary or permanent absence of an executive; and

3 A leadership/talent development and recruitment plan providing “bench strength” to the organization during

periods of transition.Project findings also identified the Executive Transition

Management (ETM)2 model as a best-practice strategy incorporating all the components of a well-planned and implemented leadership transition. ETM is a comprehensive approach to managing the whole transition process, from the current executive’s departure to the successful launch of the new executive. This unique model includes practices which can be adapted to a variety of situations, and constitutes a best practice for all transitions, planned and unplanned, in rural or urban locations, if implemented with fidelity. When ETM is used, an organization will have the three essential succession planning basics.

2 The Executive Transition Management Model was designed by several prac-titioners, including CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, TransitionGuides and the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations to decrease the risks and take advantage of the opportunities associated with an executive transition.

The ETM model organizes the multiple activities of the process into three phases:3

1 Prepare:� Executive Leadership Needs and Organiza-

tional Assessment.� The preparation phase addresses the organization’s executive leadership needs during the transition and clarifies the organization’s strategic direction and transition implications.

2 Pivot:� Organizational Strengthening and the Search.� This phase includes identifying areas that need to be strength-

ened prior to the new executive arriving, including work with the board and staff, and ensuring that financial, human resources, program operations and data management systems are in place. This phase also includes the search and hiring processes.

3 Thrive:� Post-Hire Launch and Support.� This phase recog-nizes the importance of providing appropriate orientation,

support and learning agendas for the newly hired leader in order to complete a successful transition.

It is highly recommended that nonprofit organizations prepare the plans that comprise the succession planning basics and create a comprehensive transition plan using the Executive Transition Management model. The ETM model can be im-plemented with the help of a consultant or ETM services firm, or a board can implement succession planning and transition activities internally. To assist Communities In Schools and other nonprofits with managing succession planning and leadership transition, a toolkit was developed as part of this project. The toolkit includes introductory materials, definitions of succes-sion planning, a description of the ETM approach, step-by-step guidance and tools for all components of the succession planning and leadership transition process. The tools can be adapted to suit the needs of an organization.

The evidence is undeniable: succession planning, strategic leadership development and planned transitions are not op-tional. They are vital components of healthy organizations and investments in the communities these organizations serve. For Communities In Schools, these investments are crucial to student success.

3 Tom Adams, Founder Transitions: Creating Good Endings and New Beginnings (Baltimore, MD: Annie E. Casey Foundation Monograph Series, 2005), p. 17.

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