Support Through Succession.

Throughout previous webinars we have heard from social entrepreneurs themselves which has provided a wealth of knowledge and insight. For our fifth webinar we were privileged to hear from three speakers who have seen succession in the social enterprise community from different perspectives, as supporters of social entrepreneurs – Dr Francois Bonnici of the Schwab Foundation, Adriana Craciun from the Oak Foundation and Tim Hanstad from the Chandler Foundation. As anyone who has attended one of our webinars know, it’s impossible to convey all the brilliant insights into one blog post so we have given an overview below. We highly recommend watching the webinar on our ‘Engage’ page. 

While highlighting that these discussions around succession are not new our first speaker, Dr François Bonnici, took time to give example of just some of the reasons a founder might move on from an organisation, keen to emphasise the positives that can come from them.  

In reflecting on his own experience, Francois acknowledged the difficulty of the succession process while also recognising that it can be healthy not only for the individual and the organisation but also for the wider sector. These transitions can present rich opportunities for the founder to take their experience into either another organisation tackling the same issue in a different way, tackling another issue or even bringing their experience into a completely new role such as a systems leader, in government or within the private sector.  

An article that Francois found helpful in a transition he went through in his own career was ‘Making Founder Successions Work’ in the Stanford Social Innovation Review which explores the different roles founders can play. It opens up options, leaving space for revising decisions as well as evidence about how this impacts an organisation.  

Our second speaker, Adriana Craciun providing invaluable insights into the work of the Oak Foundation, a supporter of and donor to social enterprises. This covered a range of topics including the values of the Foundation and how it promotes capacity building. The importance of partner ownership is a guiding principle of the Oak Foundation, so she also touched on the limitations they impose upon themselves in using their influence as donors.  

Among other topics Adriana also explained the practical support the Oak Foundation provide in transition situations and highlighted a recent project which saw them create communities of support for social entrepreneurs, hiring a facilitator and using the Nancy Cline technique to help them discuss issues. A recent evaluation report and an accompanying blog was produced for this project which makes for fascinating reading. 

Tim Hanstad rounded off our speakers with keen observations as well as seven lessons he has learned about transitions based on his own experience. He emphasised the huge benefits of planning, from day one, for the inevitable transition which will have to happen one day. These plans benefit the founder, the organisation and, importantly, the people the organisation serves. 

The seven lessons covered everything from forward planning, getting critical advice, supporting and making space for the successor, duties of the founder and the boards as well as the importance of creating strong trust and communication channels between the founder and the successor. Tim pointed to the Bridgespan Group article mentioned earlier to support his own observations and his final lesson brought in yet another fascinating dimension as he highlighted the importance of a communications plan for the transition. ‘Get out in front of the story, if you’re not very clear on the story ahead of time people will fill in their own story’. He advised that working with the organisation’s communication team or an external team is key in creating a robust communications plan around the transition.  

Three key take-aways from this fascinating webinar were: 

While difficult, transition can provide rich opportunities for the founder and for the wider sector. By planning for the transition, the founder has the opportunity to think about what they want to do next. 

Advice and mentoring from within and outside the organisation - particularly from those who are willing and able to give informed and difficult feedback - can provide invaluable support to the founder, the board and the successor. 

Building capacity within an organisation and creating a support network of fellow social entrepreneurs is key in ensuring better transitions for everyone involved in the process and also may lead to better transition management within the wider sector.  

If you have any thoughts on the webinar, have suggestions of what topics you would like discussed or speakers you would like to hear please contact katelynne@elderscouncil.net