Boards Need Wisdom and High EQ By Dr. Mark L. Vincent

Boards Must Manage Continuity and Succession

Leaders in their Third Turn and the Boards to whom they report often focus on the replacement aspect of succession. However, an organization’s ability to endure beyond its current stewardship depends heavily on the emotional intelligence (EQ) and wisdom of its Board of Directors.

The Disastrous Trifecta

In succession planning, we often see a “disastrous trifecta” that results in needing a strategic interim if the organization is going to ever recover:

1. an outgoing executive who cannot let go,

2. a successor who lacks mission alignment, and

3. a board that chooses expedience over thoroughness.

The Harmful Trifecta

These three strands create a braided whip threatening to flay the organization. This harmful trifecta stands in vivid contrast to an emotionally intelligent board, aware enough to braid a different cord of

1. a guided letting go (and picking up),

2. mission alignment between predecessor and successor, and

3. the board’s attentive exercise of its duty of care.

This strong, three-stranded chord becomes a slingshot that propels a successor into the future.

Planning for the Best Outcome

The partnership between Christian Leadership Alliance and Maestro-level Leaders exists to foster “plan-full” continuity as a minimum expectation, not a luxury. By journeying together in the Maestro-level Leader Cohorts, executive leaders and their boards move from “I’d recognize it if I saw it” to “We see it coming!” during the complex dynamics of leadership transition.

Let us be the leaders who leave behind a capable, wise, and emotionally intelligent governing body that ensures our missions continue to flourish.

Our newest Cohort is off to a strong start. Please contact me if you are ready to get started.

Mark L. Vincent, PhD, CCNL, EPC, is an Executive Advisor and founding member of the Sage Group Collective. He co-facilitates the most recent Maestro-level Leaders Cohort with Andrew Stern and in partnership with the Christian Leadership Alliance. His most recent book, The Maestro Effect, details the Maestro-level Leaders approach.