We have to come to an agreement that the reality is: People Leave. None of us are still at our first jobs, but we treat workplace transitions as though we've never had practice at leaving. -Naomi Hattaway We CAN add joyful moments to departure work. Human-focused transitions do not have to be difficult, and joy can come from proactive planning (we all know that the success of a big trip is more likely if we planned for said trip, right?). I enjoyed my recent conversation with Kyle S. King...

Katie didn't get to plan her departure. She died suddenly, mid-leadership, no warning. What her team did next, during my interim executive director time with them, wasn't in any succession plan I'd ever written. We put a giant sticky note on the wall and asked one question: what did you love about Katie's leadership? The answers repeated, and themes arose. We named the items that rose to the top: Katie's Way. We then asked the next leader to protect two of those pivotal and memorable...

Nonprofit Founders: I love you and your incredible impact. I also need you to spend some serious time thinking about your departures, especially as it relates to any designs you have about joining the board when you leave. About half of the founders I work with want to join the board after they step down as ED/CEO. About 25% do (against my recommendation), and for the other 75%, the board says no. The "no" might mean there's a short-term, time-limited advisory option instead, or ... the...