Understanding the Lack of Leadership Succession Planning in Nonprofit Organizations

ABSTRACT Succession planning (SP) has been presented as an essential practice for nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to ensure a future supply of leaders, organizational stability, and mission continuity. Despite SP's anticipated benefits, many NPOs do not implement this practice, and few studies have examined why. This study aimed to provide a more detailed qualitative exploration of NPOs' reasons for implementing or not implementing SP. Twenty senior NPO managers were interviewed about their organization's current SP practices, reasons for adoption or non‐adoption, and challenges experienced or anticipated with implementing SP or developing their current SP programs. The findings demonstrate the varied approaches NPOs take to implementing SP and clarify the barriers they perceive to SP. Most organizations recognized SP's importance but also identified barriers to its application in their organization. For NPOs that did not implement SP, many preferred other options for finding leaders or did not consider SP to be their highest priority. Ten inductively identified barriers emerged that explain why NPOs do not implement SP. In practice, this study's findings may aid consultants, human resource practitioners, leaders, benefactors, and policymakers in finding ways to overcome barriers to SP or in strategically reflecting on alternative approaches to leadership succession that match with the organizations' culture, resources, or priorities.