EXECUTIVE PARTNERS

Executive Partners, a collaboration between Bates Consulting and Impact Collaborative, was created to address a critical gap in services available to nonprofits. As former executive directors and consultants to nonprofits, Kelly Bates and Diane Franklin realized this gap from personal experience. They also noticed that many nonprofit capacity building organizations and leadership initiatives overlook the significance of nonprofit executive director leadership and development.

While nonprofits typically seek assistance with strategic planning, resource development and technology planning, few invest in the development of their own executive leadership. Yet without strong, stable, and skilled executive leadership, nonprofits can fail to achieve their missions. Communities pay the price through fragmented programs and services. The nonprofit loses vital resources as funders withdraw support, staff and board turn over, and productivity wanes. These factors reduce the organization's funding at the same time that expenses for recruiting new employees and board members start to rise. While an investment in leadership development may initially seem expensive, such an investment is cost effective because it provides the nonprofit with strong leaders capable of achieving the organization's goals over the long term.

Services
To help alleviate this gap in leadership development, Executive Partners offer the following services:

Leadership/Executive Assessments
Leadership/executive assessments are the first step to understanding the kinds of leadership development strategies that an organization may need. We seek the perspectives of the executive director, board members, staff, and other constituents about the organization's current leadership using a variety of tools, including interviews, surveys, and self-assessment instruments. From these data, we develop an increased awareness of what the organization must do to support and develop its leadership abilities. We make practical recommendations and provide resources and support. After the assessment phase, we often work with organizations to implement these recommendations, thus helping the organization to move beyond assessment toward positive change.

Support for First-Time Executive Directors
Because of the high turnover in executive leadership, many executive directors are leading organizations for the first time. While many of these people have held leadership positions in other contexts, they often have little experience managing in the nonprofit world. We work with first-time executive directors to help them understand the practices and nuances of nonprofits, the role and responsibilities of the executive director, and how to deal with leadership, management, and work/life balance issues. We also assist first-time directors with the challenging task of handling the numerous and conflicting demands on their time.

We also recognize that first-time executive directors need concrete assistance with the "practical" aspects of their jobs, such as budgeting, financial planning, resource generation, human resource management and strategic planning. We have an experienced team of colleagues who can provide assistance in these areas to nonprofit directors, managers, and boards.

Executive Coaching
Executive directors often benefit from ongoing executive coaching to help with issues relating to personal, professional, and organizational development. Coaching can consist of meetings or conversations on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis along with personal planning and exercises to be completed between coaching sessions. Coaching may focus on a specific problem or crisis that the executive director is facing or on the overall improvement of the director's leadership and management skills.

Executive Support Groups
Executive support groups bring together 8 to 12 executive directors who meet on a monthly basis with one or more experienced mentors who have served as executive directors. These groups provide a safe haven, outside the hectic demands of work, in which executive directors can discuss and share managerial dilemmas and challenges with their peers on a regular basis. If the group desires, we can also bring in experienced functional specialists in areas such as fundraising, personnel, technology, marketing, financial management, partnerships or mergers with other organizations and other topics of interest. Not only do the groups offer helpful ideas and a place for reflection, but they also offer executive directors the opportunity to build a peer network that can offer ongoing support.

Executive Director Evaluation
Most executive directors do not receive performance evaluations to provide them with concrete suggestions for improving their leadership. Boards often lack the expertise to develop effective evaluations or fail to carry them out due to time constraints. We work with boards to develop tools and strategies that engage diverse stakeholders in the process of evaluating and enhancing the leadership skills of executive directors.

Executive Leadership Transitions
Working with a search consultant, we help organizations plan for executive leadership transitions. These transitions may involve executive director departures, sabbaticals or transfers of leadership from one executive director to another. We begin by holding a workshop with the current board and executive director to discuss the elements of sound transition planning. We work with the organization during the transition process to help achieve a smooth leadership transition.

Executive Retreats
We offer executive retreats on and off site for executive directors to provide them with general support, skill building workshops, peer networking opportunities, and well-needed relaxation.

Networking Events
These events bring together executives from a wide variety of nonprofits to share ideas and resources.   

Why We Believe These Services are Vital
A 2001 national study of nonprofit executive directors, "Daring to Lead: Nonprofit Executive Directors and Their Work Experience" shows that executive leadership is at risk. According to that research:

• Nearly two-thirds of executive directors are in the role for the first time
  
  
• Despite enjoying their work, fewer than half of current directors plan to take on another executive role. 51 % of directors held their positions for four years or less, a quarter for two years or less
  
  
• High stress, long hours, and concern over agency finances are the major stress factors for directors especially those running small and mid-sized agencies.

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