Avoiding the Sinkhole of Founder's Syndrome When Hiring a New Executive Director

Without an effective and inclusive decision-making structure and process, there is potential for conflict between new directors and new staff members, particularly a new executive director, who seek effective involvement with organizational development and the founder(s) who seek to control the decision-making process.  This can be very disruptive both to the organization and to the individuals concerned and should be carefully and clearly diagnosed and addressed quickly and decisively.  It may simply limit further growth and success of the organization, or it may lead to bitter factionalism and divisions as the scale of demands made on the organization increases, or it may result in outright failure.  

Coping with founder's syndrome requires discussion of the problem, a plan of action, and interventions by the founder, the board and or by others involved in the organization. The objective of the plan should be to allow the organization to make a successful transition to a mature organizational model without damage to either the organization itself or the individuals concerned.

This webinar will offer a discussion on maintaining healthy relationships between the founder, the board, and the new executive director.