Tom Adams
Too many organizations underperform because they fail to pay sufficient attention to leader transitions. As a result, the mission, those served, and the employees suffer. In my work with more than 300 organizations facing leader transitions, I’ve identified many factors that influence the outcome of a leader transition.
The power of leader transitions to advance, weaken or destroy organizations and the power of a planned and well-executed transition to strengthen and transform organizations.
Unfortunately, not every leader transition goes so well. Think for a moment about organizations you might know that were weakened or destroyed by a flawed leader transition. Arts organizations, charter schools, food banks, group homes for people with developmental disabilities, neighborhood development initiatives and community health clinics of all sizes have felt the pain of failed or flawed transitions.
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If you’ve seen one nonprofit board, you’ve seen one nonprofit board. There are those that drive change and those that prevent it. Boards that raise money and boards that don’t. Those living in the weeds and those that function at nosebleed heights.
The organizations we live and work in every day are highly complex and multi-dimensional with many moving parts and diverse personalities, perspectives, and interests. They’re also interdependent with the volatile and complex world beyond their walls. As a consultant to nonprofit organizations, I’m hyper-aware of the forces that continually buffet them – vagaries in the political environment that impact their funding, social and economic forces that impact their clients, the many impacts of the pandemic, and the impact of generational differences in the workplace, to name just a few.
Reflecting on one year ending and another beginning gets me thinking about the practice of courage. I am keenly aware of how easy it is to keep doing the same activities and how hard it is to change. It doesn’t really matter whether I enjoy or get benefits from a...
On Sunday evening, after a delightful holiday weekend, I learned of the sudden death of a 41-year-old friend. I couldn’t believe it. Numbness blocked my tears. I sat in shock.
As a consultant who works with nonprofit organizations, I have a specific interest in succession and in seeing organizations becoming more equitable. A word that we often hear in this work is leadership. This word, for me, has some deep, almost ancestral resonance while at the same time making me a little uneasy.
I find myself appalled at the latest mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. The horror of so many people innocently gunned down in a bowling alley and restaurant sends terror to my heart. I couldn’t help but think on the way to the store last night that no one is safe any place.
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about our collective impotence to do anything about mass shootings and gun violence. I committed to write to national leaders in government, business, faith communities and nonprofits to request a root cause analysis and a commitment to end this uniquely American craziness. In the past two weeks, I have learned a little about the many efforts around the country which are inspiring and encouraging. And I have come to appreciate how challenging it is to figure out to whom to write and then, who might lead a deeper look at mass shootings and gun violence.
Joseph Campbell wrote about the “Heroes Journey.” In it, life is referenced as a journey wherein we may have very different heroes to propel us forward. When I think of heroes, three people come to mind. I’ll tell you about them because they shaped my life’s work for social justice, as well as guiding my retirement years.
Early July 2nd, a neighborhood block party became a mass shooting site in South Baltimore. Last count, three people were killed and 28 were injured. I will spare you the details of what kind of guns were used. You have read and seen enough of these stories to know it was a horrible act of violence with guns that don’t belong in this world. Mass killings are not a 2nd amendment right and no one in a free nation ought to live in daily fear of where the next attack will occur.
I found myself thinking this week a lot about my friend Greg Cantori’s post last week about who are our heroes and why? Greg called out for all of us the importance of honoring heroes who are working to bring about lasting, radical change to broken systems. As we celebrate our national birthday and “freedom day” in the United States, I am grateful for the freedoms we have and deeply saddened and frustrated by the persistence of so many ways we block freedom for all.I found myself thinking this week a lot about my friend Greg Cantori’s post last week about who are our heroes and why? Greg called out for all of us the importance of honoring heroes who are working to bring about lasting, radical change to broken systems. As we celebrate our national birthday and “freedom day” in the United States, I am grateful for the freedoms we have and deeply saddened and frustrated by the persistence of so many ways we block freedom for all.
Tom Adams writes and speaks on topics vital to the intersection of our personal lives with our community and global lives. He has for decades been engaged in and written about nonprofit leadership and transitions, spirituality and spiritual growth, how we each contribute to a more just and equitable world and recovery from addictions and the Twelve Step recovery movement.