As an Interim Executive Director, I have feet in two different camps. I lead an organization while consulting to the board of directors. While managing the leadership transition, I might reconfigure the management structure, support fundraising and outreach to stakeholders, help support the search for new permanent leadership, or overhaul the organization’s finances. Or all of the above. I also serve as a management consultant to nonprofits and government agencies.
How I Can Help You
About 10 years ago—after a several-decades-long career in increasingly senior positions in nonprofit organizations—I quit my job without a new one at hand.
I was recognized by my peers and superiors as a successful executive, but I felt that my contributions were not unique. When I thought deeply about my past experience, I realized that the jobs I had enjoyed most were the ones in which I was asked to temporarily parachute into a different part of an organization (often after the abrupt departure of the prior executive), solve a problem, and leave it in better shape. At a major research university, I served temporarily in three different vice president positions. At an academic medical center, I was Acting Vice President for Public Affairs. In each position, I was asked to increase effectiveness and ready the department for more permanent leadership, while continuing to do my day job.
I began to wonder if I could do this work in a diverse set of organizations—smaller, larger, arts-related, or community-based—without keeping the day job. In other words, could I be a permanent temp?
I soon found out that I could.
Turns out that this is work that not everyone can do. Most people find it difficult to bond with an organization over the course of months or a year, only to depart when their efforts are coming to fruition. But I have made a practice of love ‘em and leave ‘em. Now, after ten years, I know that what I bring to these assignments is highly sought after and much valued.
So every six months to a year I find myself arriving at a new nonprofit organization, ready to serve as its interim leader, usually when the organization is in the midst of a big change. Sometimes, the organization’s very survival is at stake. I love the work. I have the sense after each assignment that what I have delivered is different, unusual, and the perfect “just in time” solution to many of the issues that make it difficult for small to mid-sized not-for-profit organizations to thrive.
If your organization is anticipating a change in leadership and you are considering hiring an Interim Executive Director to manage that change, call me to discuss how I can help you. I am also available for executive coaching, management consulting, and other support for board and staff.
