10/13/2022

Executive Research Perspective

Create a place for an interim CEO in your succession plan

Place yourself in this scenario: You have been the chief staff officer (CSO) for an association for the last nine years. You poured your blood, sweat and tears into the fabric of the organization; now you’re ready for a new challenge, applying your lessons learned to lead a new association. But what about the association you are leaving? You’ve given it all you can, but you’re needed elsewhere now and can’t give your team a year’s notice to find your replacement.

Fortunately, your organization has a succession plan approved by the board of directors—and that plan includes hiring an interim CEO. Rather than perform a rushed search to find a new leader, the board can bring in an interim CEO to create a stable bridge to the association’s future while the board searches for the right permanent successor. And you can move onto your next phase knowing you haven’t left the team you worked with for years in a lurch.

This scenario captures several of the key takeaways from the ASAE Research Foundation’s recent report, The Role of the Interim CEO: Key Insights of Association Executive Transitions. According to the research, 13 out of 15 association leaders strongly agreed that hiring an interim CEO was the right move for their board during their CEO transition. 

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE's Center for Association Leadership.