Ten questions every board director needs to ask about succession planning
Succession planning is about much more than just replacing board members when they leave. It is about planning recruitment, induction and retention so that you can deal with changes in personnel without destabilising the overall governance of your organisation. Indeed, in a healthy organisation, succession planning is part of a continual process of reviewing, renewing and revitalising the organisation. In this respect, good succession planning is about the healthy maintenance and handover of collective wisdom, and it thereby ensures the continuity and evolution of organisational knowledge and purpose.
In working through the following 10 questions, you will see that board succession can’t be considered in isolation; it should be part of an overall process of creating healthy board structures in order that you can focus on the fun bit – delivering on the important purpose of your organisation. Good luck with finding great people for your board.
These 10 questions will help board directors to consider their responsibilities in relation to funding at their organisation.
To know why you should be asking these questions, download the full document.
1. Do we have a succession plan?
2. Does our board reflect the community it serves?
3. Why are people resigning from the board?
4. Have we got the right mix of people and skills on our board to achieve our strategic goals?
5. What will we do if our chair/treasurer/secretary retires?
6. Are our roles clearly defined and delineated?
7. What’s our strategy for finding board candidates?
8. What does a prospective board member need to know?
9. Do we have a solid induction process?
10. Are our board meetings effective and well run?
