Times like these invite a lot of metaphors. Whichever you choose, they tend to convey uncertainty, challenge, danger—even existential threat. Amid the predictions and scenarios, there are elements of clear consensus. We don’t know what our sector will look like in 2026. Changes will range from incremental to sweeping. Organizations must explore a far wider array of options than in the past.
Lessons From Recent Disruption
During COVID, the nonprofit world experienced major staffing shifts: remote work, large-scale departures, and a new generation of workers with different expectations and norms. Now, just a few years later, we’re facing another period of disruption—one that is shaped by the pandemic’s legacy but driven by new forces.
Major shifts in program approaches and revenue sources are already underway. Established practices are under threat. Government actions are altering program needs and capabilities in ways that while no longer unexpected are still impossible to predict.
The Case for Interim Leadership
The next twelve months will demand a great deal from nonprofit boards. They’ll face decisions about mission strengthening or realignment. They’ll confront revisioning, reshaping or culling programs or pivoting from revenue models. They might also confront mergers, acquisitions, or absorptions.
In this climate, nonprofits will need leaders who are bold, creative, and courageous. But right now they need leaders with specialized experience guiding organizations through transitions—leaders who can act decisively in uncharted waters. If we borrow from a familiar metaphor, today’s nonprofit ships need a harbormaster, someone who knows how to navigate shoals and shifting currents before they can reach open seas.
Why Interims Work
Hiring a long-term leader is one of the most critical actions a board can take. But doing so without a clear picture of the organization and the environment in which it will exist is short-sighted. An interim leader gives the organization breathing room to:
- Conduct a clear-eyed analysis of processes and structures
- Interpret trends and pilot new approaches
- Confront realities about size, scope, and sustainability
- Align survival strategies with the mission
In one recent placement we facilitated, an organization working closely with government agencies and receiving significant federal funding was on the brink of structural collapse. The interim leader guided the organization into a merger that preserved its geographic program delivery while strengthening overall services. The decision was clear: maintaining independent infrastructure was too costly to sustain. Other organizations are finding that their future depends on changing membership models, revising their core mission, tapping reserves strategically, or redesigning their staffing models entirely.
The Next Generation’s Challenge
The rising stars in our field face a daunting challenge and a rare opportunity: to redefine nonprofits in a world with different rules and priorities than we knew a decade ago. Those policies and directives at some point will shift again, as they always do. What won’t change is the impact nonprofits have on the people they serve.
Setting the Stage for Success
Boards owe it to these people–and their communities, their staff, and their stakeholders to set future leaders up for success. Interim leaders create the clarity, stability, and focus needed to ensure that a new leader’s vision is fixed on the horizon—not consumed by the balance sheet, the org chart, or the crisis communications plan.
Contributed by Claas Ehlers, Support Center Director for Executive Transition. ce*****@*****************ne.org
