hello my name is susan meyer and i'm the vice president of consulting and training at boardsource i'm here today to tell you a few basic steps about how to select a chief executive which is the second of the 10 basic responsibilities of non-profit boards succession planning is becoming a watchword in today's boardrooms unfortunately the reality is that many boards only pay lip service to this important activity the aim of succession planning is not necessarily to groom an actual successor and that surprises many a good plan proposes guidelines for action that can be immediately implemented when that action is necessary in other words when the chief executive gives notice or if in fact it's when the chief executive is actually walking out the door now we're going to talk about the steps in hiring the chief executive they are the same steps that you would include in your succession plan when launching a search for the chief executive position the board typically appoints a search committee usually comprised of board members the board as a whole needs to decide whether to hire an executive search firm to help the committee with the process or to conduct the search on its own both options are viable and should be considered regardless of whether the board is undertaking a national regional or local search for new leader and regardless of whether there is a strong internal candidate the process should always involve the following three things number one reviewing the mission statement number two clarifying the organization's strengths and weaknesses and number three conducting an inventory of the organization's current and most importantly emerging needs next the board needs to agree on clear objectives and clarify expectations for that first year of the chief executive service set a few long-term priorities and goals and articulate the particular characteristics skills and style that it seeks in its new chief executive the search committee along with the search firm if one has been hired should develop the job description but the full board should have the opportunity to review that description before the search actually begins finally once the board has hired a new chief executive it's the board's responsibility to ensure that the new leader gets off to a good start and to do its part in retaining that new leader this includes providing consistent support to the chief executive and conducting an annual performance assessment of the chief executive that includes performance goals and areas of focus for the future you