Our best and brightest might quit as we try to fill a senior leadership job

Question: Our board of directors was thrown into a tailspin when our executive director announced she planned to leave Alaska by the end of summer because she couldn’t face another winter like last year’s. Her announcement couldn’t have come at a worse time. In January, we held a strategic planning session and outlined a series of ambitious goals. We wouldn’t have created these goals if we had known our top person planned to leave.

She’s been our ED for eight years and has been the steady hand at the helm that helped us navigate through the pandemic and the staffing difficulties after that. She told us, “Don’t worry. I’ve built a strong bench. You’ve got three excellent internal candidates, any of whom can do my job.”

We posted the position; five internal candidates applied. Although two weren’t qualified, we interviewed all five out of courtesy. Our selection committee soon narrowed in on our favorite, only to learn if we chose her, we risk losing two of the others. This is particularly true with one of the candidates who feels she’s the “heir apparent” executive director, as she’s been with us for six years and is the “step up” deputy director when the ED takes a vacation. This came up in her interview when she mentioned she’s planned to become the ED for the last two years and has begun looking outside our agency for a similar position.

How do we navigate this transition without losing any of our strong internal candidates?

Answer: Internal candidates can become disheartened when they lose their bid for a senior position and then have to work for the individual selected. Passed-over applicants often jump ship, seeking positions outside their organizations.

Here’s how to change this dynamic.

Open, transparent and honest

With five internal candidates, your board can’t afford a shrouded selection process. You need to provide your five internal candidates and other interested employees with openness, honesty and transparency so they can trust the selection process.

Let them know who serves on the selection committee. Make clear the requirements for the executive director position, and the criteria the selection committee plans to use when deciding on their pick.

You mentioned two of your five candidates weren’t qualified, yet you interviewed them out of respect. If you knew from the onset they had no chance, you got their hopes up only to dash them. This type of false promise can create harm. It might have been more respectful to sit down with each of these two and let them know you’re excited they want to advance their careers, and outline areas in which their current experience doesn’t make them one of the “most qualified.” Then commit to them. Let them know you’ll work with them to develop their skills and to identify internal opportunities for professional growth.

Visible fairness

Your selection process needs to be visibly fair. This means every internal candidate needs the same shot to show what they can do. In addition to asking every applicant to submit a resume or statement of qualifications, give every applicant a full interview and the opportunity to outline where they plan to take the organization.

Identify other promotional opportunities

The five ambitious goals you’ve recently identified give your organization the unique ability to restructure “room at the top” to create the space for continued growth both for your organization and for those not chosen as the ED. While you need an executive director who’s “in charge,” consider carving out senior-level opportunities and accountabilities so your two “non-selected” candidates can also feel they’ve also secured a promotion and acknowledgement of their value.

Communicate effectively with passed-down internal candidates

Once you decide on your chosen candidate, reach out to the others who’ve applied. Thank them. Factually explain why other candidate got the job. Let them know you’ll work with them to identify opportunities for professional growth and ways in which they can advance their careers.

If this sounds like a lot of work to you, consider the alternative in which you lose two strong team members and falter in your quest to achieve those ambitious goals you set.