Applications invited for 2005:
BoardWalk Governance Fellowships at
Harvard Business School

Last October, we celebrated our second anniversary by announcing the first BoardWalk Governance Fellowships, through which we support capacity building in nonprofit board governance by promoting attendance at an exceptional three-day course offered each November by Harvard Business School.

Last year's attendees were so enthusiastic that we are pleased to expand the program to four such fellowships this year. Nominees must be senior board members of IRS-recognized nonprofits, and they must have the endorsement of the nonprofits they serve. Other details are available through the link below.

This year we are especially receptive to applications from trustees of nonprofits in Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia, as well as from our own home state of Georgia. Initial indications of interest are due to us by mid August, and the Fellowships themselves will be announced in late September. Harvard's program runs from November 9-12, 2005.

Newly formed
Abundant Forests Alliance
seeks first CEO

The Abundant Forests Alliance is a new trade association recently formed to help strengthen trust in the forest and paper products industry by highlighting existing efforts in forest stewardship and promoting environmentally preferable choices by consumers. The inaugural CEO will have a disproportionate role in crafting the Alliance's strategy, shaping its message and executing its plans.

Foundation for the Mid South:
CEO search progresses

Over the past 15 years, the Foundation for the Mid South has earned a national reputation for innovation and impact in its work in community development, social equity, and progressive philanthropy in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, a three-state region that is home to the largest concentration of chronic poverty in all of America.

With the announced departure of the founding CEO by year's end, the Foundation has launched a nationwide search for a leader to leverage past successes while building an even stronger coalition of regional resources to tackle the core issues that affect every community in the region.

Of particular interest to the search committee will be community-minded leaders who have hands-on knowledge of the people and issues of the Mid South as well as demonstrated sensitivity to the area and its challenges.

Triangle Community Foundation selects statewide advocate as new President

The Triangle Community Foundation, a $100-million asset philanthropic force embracing Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh and other neighboring towns and counties in the Triangle region of North Carolina, has just named Andrea Bazan Manson to succeed TCF's founding head, Shannon St. John.

A native of Argentina who immigrated to the US in her early teens, Andrea is perhaps best known in the region for her work as Executive Director of El Pueblo, a statewide advocacy organization committed to strengthening the Latino community in North Carolina. She also serves on several national and regional boards, including the National Council of La Raza and the North Caroilina Center for Nonprofits, of which she is vice chair.

In the announcement, TCF board chair Peter Meehan hailed Shannon St. John for the leadership that propelled TCF from its first $3000 contribution in the early 1980s to its current level of 550 funds totalling over $100 million.

Andrea notes that "the Triangle Community Foundation is a treasure in the region, and I am honored to be the person selected to lead the organization and its hard-working and dedicated staff in its mission to connect donors with important community efforts."

Society of International Business Fellows taps former Canadian Consul General as CEO

In what we hope will prove to be a record for client deliberation (!), we are pleased to note the recent appointment of Astrid Pregel as the next President and CEO of the Society of International Business Fellows.

This year, SIBF celebrates 25 years of advancing global understanding and providing unique educational and networking opportunities to a diverse membership of nearly 500 CEOs and other high-level executives with a keen interest in global commerce, education and fellowship.

In the summer of 2004, BoardWalk Consulting had the privilege of introducing Astrid to SIBF leadership as a candidate to run the Society's Global Network Foundation. The search committee ultimately decided that appointment of a full-time executive would be premature, but when a different search was launched late in 2004 for a new CEO to head the parent organization, we were pleased to recommend Astrid once again. Last month, Astrid was named head of SIBF and also head of the Global Network Foundation, the original focus of our discussions with her.

Astrid is a native of the Netherlands but a long-time citizen of Canada, for which she served in a number of important diplomatic roles around the world. In her final official post, she served as the Canadian Consul General for both Atlanta and Miami.

12 Steps to a Successful Search:
Part 2 of 3

In our previous newsletter, we addressed the first four steps in a successful search process: the impetus, the committee, the ground rules and the resources.

In this, the second installment, we address the core issues of candidate development and outreach:

Step 5. The search firm
Step 6. The specification
Step 7. The research
Step 8. The candidates

In our next issue of smorgasBoard^SM, we will tackle the committee interview process as well as the follow-on steps critical to a successful hire and transition to the new management.

5. The Search Firm. Whether or not to use a search firm to support the recruiting process is a major decision. Since hiring a CEO is likely a nonprofit board's biggest decision, we recommend utilizing all available resources to ensure a compelling hire. Few corporations of consequence would undertake such a process without professional assistance, and more and more nonprofits realize their missions and their stakeholders deserve a comprehensive, professional search.

In evaluating use of a search firm, consider the following key issues:

• Which offers the best value to the organziation, the obvious costs of a full search or the hidden costs of going it alone?
• Should we rely on search professionals we already know, or is a more formal RFP process called for? (Note that RFPs take more time for everyone involved but may uncover compelling resources you might otherwise have overlooked. Just be careful not to get too bureaucratic in the review!)
• Given alternative search resources, which consultant or firm will make the best working partner for us? Which will be the best ambassador for the organization
• Does the consultant offer a process that is both accountable and transparent?
• Does the consultant share our passion for the cause?
• Does the consultant have the time, the competence, and the commitment to give our search the resources it deserves?

Note: The use of a search firm does not absolve the search committee of the board of its responsibility for the process. This is why the working relationship with the firm is so key: You want a consultant who will handle your search, your candidates and your reputation at least as well as you would yourself.

6. The Specification. No document you prepare will be as important to a successful search as will your summary specification. It should represent the committee's (and, by extension, the board's) shared vision for the organization, and it should be the benchmark against which final candidates are evaluated.

The specification is a marketing tool, not a personnel document, and thus it should be both inviting and aspirational. Most "spec sheets" developed internally go on at length about requirements without ever mentioning why the ideal candidate would be attracted to the role in the first place. If your summary does not answer the core question, "Why would I want to work here?" then your specification needs serious redrafting.

A final note on specs: They should reflect consensus, not necessarily unanimity. The details are important, to be sure, but the sweep of the document is key. If every member of the search committee can endorse the document with his or her signature even while holding reservations about this line or that, then your document is likely a good one, as long as it does not duck tough issues that the organization has not addressed.

7. The Research. A successful search hinges on a compelling candidate pool; otherwise, the basis of comparison is faulty. It is rare that a thoughtful, methodical search results in a bad choice. The real risk is the better choice that was overlooked. No search is truly exhaustive, despite the standard claims, but every search can be comprehensive. The definition of "comprehensive" will depend on the context of your particular challenge. If the scope of your search is at least two significant degrees larger than the scope of your services. your markets or your stakeholders, you are probably in the safe zone. Neighborhood groups rarely need to recruit from 500 miles away, but all organizations deserve an effort that goes beyond the obvious targets.

The key is research, and the core process is outreach.

• Who shares (or could be led to share) a vested interest in the success of our organization?
• Where do our collective spheres of influence overlap?
• Where are the centers of excellence in our field?
• What organizations have already succeeded at the sort of things we're trying to do?
• Who led those organziations to success?

One obvious resource many organizations overlook is the networks represented by their core supporters-- board members, donors, constituents, partners. Forget six degrees of separation; if you could just tap the networks already known to your organization's best friends--that's just two degrees-- you will already have access to an extraordinary pool of talent.

8. The Candidates. We believe that everybody we meet in the course of our work is a potential candidate or a potential source of candidates. How you treat such people will have a major influence on the quality of your outcome:

• Are we responsive to all inquiries?
• Do we follow up on all outreach calls and interviews?
• Are we honest with candidates about our process and its timeline?
• Do we say "No" gracefully?
• Do we say "Thanks" consistently? (An attitude of gratitide is a powerful recruiting tool.)
• Have we made room for creative solutions?
• Do we understand that there are no perfect candidates, that each contender represents a trade- off against the ideal?
• Do we know which trade-offs we can live with and which we cannot?
• Do we treat every candidate with same respect we exhibit with potential donors, partners, constituents or board members?