A Guide to Executive Selection
Foreword
This book is especially for board
members—those open-hearted, open-handed folks who do so much to guard, guide,
and make good the missions of our nonprofit organizations. When you signed up for board service
you probably did not know it would also include executive search. Now here you are with an unexpected
task, a limited budget, and already more than enough to do.
It is that coming together of
less-than-happy conditions that caused us to assemble this small book. The “us” in this case is far more
than the two of us at the bottom of this page.
It is our colleagues and friends on the editorial advisory committee who
as board members and executives have lived through this search process which now
you face. While they do have the
very last word here (see Afterwords II), they also had the very first word with
us about the substance and shape of what follows. That is to say this is largely a
collection of our combined wisdom.
The first three chapters are addressed
to you as board members. They are
designed to help you get a perspective on your executive transition, assess the
present status and special needs of your organization, and create a profile of
the kind of leadership all that suggests.
Most of Chapter IV and all of Chapter V
tackle the selection and specific work of the search committee, and thus these
sections are intended as a guide for search committee members in addition to
boards. We could have ended with
Chapter VI on the details of checking out, contracting with, and celebrating
your selected finalist for the position.
We didn’t. We believe that
the entry attitudes and behaviors of the new executive and board are so crucial
that we added a Chapter VII, “The First 100 Days,” addressed to the new
executive in addition to the board.
Our hope is that much of what is on
these pages will be of assistance with this unexpected task, making it far
easier and more affordable. If that
is so you can join with us in appreciation to Elfi Di Bella and the good people
at Huntington National Bank for their sponsorship. Thanks as well to Margaret Wildi and
Grange Insurance for their always-professional printing job.
Finally, though, foremost on our
appreciation list is Kelly Stevelt Kaser, the talented and trusted colleague at
the Academy for Leadership & Governance.
Her initial good work of research and final work of preparing the
manuscript were as always exemplary.
Our editor, Karen Simonian, made smooth the language and clear the
sentences in a way that makes us all proud.
Donn F. Vickers
Cindy Hilsheimer
Columbus,
Ohio
Summer, 2007
The People Involved
Donn F. Vickers has
had a kinetic career living in five cities and working in five different
professions. In Honolulu and
Chicago he taught music in private schools
and performed in jazz groups and symphony orchestras. In
Rochester he was a Presbyterian
clergyman especially involved in the civil rights movement. In
Syracuse he did research and
development in higher education at the Syracuse University Research Corporation.
In Columbus he was the founding director of The Thurber House
literary center and the previous director of The Jefferson Center. This is the sixth resource for
not-for-profit managers published during his tenure as the Executive Director of
The Academy for Leadership & Governance.
Cindy Hilsheimer is principal and founder of SC
search consultants, llc, an executive search firm established in 1999 serving
public, private and non-profit organizations, nationwide, with a team of
dedicated professionals committed to uniting blue-chip talent with their
clients. She initiated her professional career in public accounting with KPMG
followed by service in a variety of financial roles with closely held
businesses.
Her passion for philanthropy was initiated in grade school and is demonstrated
by her ongoing commitment to community service. She has served in numerous
nonprofit leadership positions and, currently, she serves as trustee for the
Columbus Metropolitan Library and its Foundation, the
James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute Foundation, the
Columbus
Academy and the New Albany Foundation. Her
firm has facilitated and conducted a host of executive searches for nonprofit
boards.
Finally, though, foremost on our
appreciation list is Kelly Stevelt Kaser, the talented and trusted colleague at
the Academy for Leadership & Governance.
Her initial good work of research and final work of preparing the
manuscript were as always exemplary.
Our editor, Karen Simonian, made smooth the language and clear the
sentences in a way that makes us all proud.
The Editorial Advisory Committee
was comprised of nine community leaders. These individuals meet throughout
the entire development of the publication to share insights and lessons learned. The committee included:
Jonathan C. Beard, President & CEO,
Columbus Compact Corporation
David E. Chesebrough, President & CEO,
COSI Columbus
Ann S. Hoaglin, President, Board of
Trustees, Columbus Museum of Art
Annette Houck, Senior Counsel, The
Huntington National Bank
Cynthia Lazarus, President & CEO, YWCA
Columbus
Dawn Tyler
Lee, Assistant Vice President for Government Relations, The
Ohio
State University
Debra Plousha Moore, Senior Vice
President, Human Resources & Organizational Development, OhioHealth
Susan D. Rector, Partner, Schottenstein,
Zox & Dunn Co., L.P.A.
Mataryun "Mo" Wright, President and
Managing Director, RAMA Consulting Group, Inc
Our conviction is that what you have
agreed to do is most significant and that you deserve assistance and
satisfaction in the doing of it. Our hope is that you will find something
on the pages that follow that will inform, enhance, and enliven your term as
board president.