Leadership Change: Here's How to Make It as Painless as Possible

“It’s unfortunate, but more than half of CEO transitions are not well-managed in my mind. The current CEO drops off, and a new one drops in,” Tandon says. “Nonprofits are not like a Navy ship, where one commander can just jump in because they all follow the same protocols.”

The first 90 to 100 days for the new CEO are the most critical for success, Nardizzi and Tandon agree. The first 100 days are spent learning the basics of the organization, especially crucial for someone new to the organization. The next 100 days are spent in a deep dive of the what exactly the CEO is there to do — where he or she came from and where the organization would like to be. Then, the next year is when the new CEO can really begin to make an imprint on the nonprofit.