All is Well that Ends Well: Find Your Way to a Great Presidential Ending
Inevitable Endings
If you serve on the board of a higher education institution for more than five years, the odds are good that you will be responsible for stewarding a presidential transition. And if you are currently a president, you won’t be able to escape it. 36% of college and university presidencies in the United States turned over between April 2018 and March 2021. This level of turnover continues to accelerate, and the average tenure of a president has declined from 8.5 years in 2006 to 6.5 years in 2016. This article is a bit longer than usual, but it is intended to look behind the curtain to help presidents and board members understand the dynamics and benefits of good presidential endings.
More frequent leadership transitions reveal a pressing need for colleges and university boards to prepare for presidential succession and facilitate smooth transitions in and out of this critical role. A client of mine recently told me, “These years have been like dog years for a college president . . . my presidency is 49 years old.” These dynamics were at work long before higher education confronted the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating political and social polarization and demographic, economic, and fiscal challenges that continue to be present. These pressures make it more likely that trustees will need to steward the sunset of a presidency. An excellent presidential ending is often overlooked but should be a high priority for any governing board. Michael Le Roy Associates’ Executive Transition Services and MyNextSeason work in partnership to facilitate successful transitions for Presidents, Boards, Colleges, and Universities.
The factors influencing a presidential departure are as unique and varied as each institution and president. Planned retirement, the health needs of the president or family members, the acceptance of a job offer at another institution, the completion of a strategic plan or fundraising goals, succession plan timing, and the end of a presidential contract are examples of “positive” or expected reasons a president might give for ending service at an institution. But even these positive influences on a departure can turn sour without intentional planning and collaboration between the president and board.
If good endings are difficult to execute under the best circumstances, the challenges are more formidable when a president must depart for “negative” reasons. Examples of negative reasons for separation include underperformance, an enduring rift between the board and president, or the judgment that one party to the relationship believes it is time for a change. Of course, there are many other reasons, but redemptive endings for the president, the board, and the institution are highly desirable even under these difficult circumstances.
An orderly, graceful transition yields important benefits to the institution, the board, the outgoing president, the search committee, and the next president. But the temptations for the board chair and board leadership are plentiful in this tender moment. Usually, boards jump into “search mode” for a successor and overlook the essential task of a grateful farewell. The time between the decision to end a presidential tenure (either by the president, board, or both) and the actual departure is highly sensitive, prone to communication fumbles, heightened palace intrigue, factionalism on a board, and jockeying for position among senior leaders. Attentiveness to a good ending for the outgoing president can diminish the consequences of these problems and set the presidential search, and the next president, up for success.
The Benefits of a Good Ending for the University
The board of trustees is the steward of the presidential leadership of an institution. Positive, orderly, and forward-looking transitions prioritize the health and well-being of the institution first. A transition with a good ending for the president allows the focus to remain on the institution’s forward momentum rather than being distracted by the drama of an awkward transition. Colleges and universities can ill afford to stand still while one president finishes his tenure of service, a search is conducted, and a new president learns the ropes. A good ending serves to minimize disruption and the loss of institutional momentum during a time of presidential succession. A board and president working together toward a graceful transition enables the university to continue to advance its strategic priorities and goals. A good ending enables the college or university to benefit by having one more high-profile goodwill ambassador in the community who will wear the badge of the former institution with gratitude and pride. Every board hopes that graduates are ambassadors for their alma mater. This should also be the board’s hope for the institution’s former president.
The Benefits of a Good Ending for the Board
Once the departure and succession timeline has been communicated, the board of trustees moves into the spotlight and will remain there until the next president is selected and announced. The board and board chair must communicate strategically and effectively with the outgoing president, board members, the senior leadership team, faculty, staff, students, donors, and friends of the institution. These are not a board’s routine tasks, and few volunteer board members come to the role well-equipped for this work.
Often the initial phases of planning a departure must be done in strict confidence between a few board leaders and a president, but without the benefit of much prior experience or advice. Mistakes in this phase lead to unnecessary difficulties that cloud the entire transition. By mutual agreement between the president and the board chair, many of these mistakes can be avoided by retaining an experienced executive transition advisor. Good communication and coordination are essential during this period. A presidential transition is when the board is most visible to all community stakeholders. Board members rarely consider that presidential candidates will be watching to glean insights about the board’s character at this stage.
A board that can express its gratitude and celebrates the outgoing president’s achievements with sincerity and integrity provides excellent evidence to prospective presidential candidates that it is a healthy, high-functioning board unified around the university’s mission and purpose. A board that stewards a good leadership departure is more likely to be a board committed to engineering a good start for the next president. A good ending also demonstrates that board processes are orderly as opposed to arbitrary. A good ending involves a high degree of collaboration with the president on the communication of the departure timeline, gratitude for the president’s service and accomplishments, and a clear, orderly plan for consulting with community stakeholders about future leadership needs before kicking off a search for a successor.
A Good Ending for the President and Family
Of course, a positive parting of ways does not depend solely on the board. It also depends upon a president who understands their essential role in a good ending. For this reason, a good ending must also be an explicit goal and stated commitment by the outgoing president. The presidency lays claim to the whole life of a president and his family, and departures can be sensitive. A change in one family member’s job uproots the entire family life ecosystem. Friendships, geography, housing, income, schooling, and community life are just a few facets of life that change at once, and this can be difficult for those who have not walked in these shoes to understand.
For a president, the emotions that surface during a transition are complex, multi-layered, and often take leaders and their families by surprise. Because most presidents and family members are conditioned to take the high road, there can be weariness, accumulated resentment, grief, loss, and some suppressed disappointment toward the end of the presidency. This may also be true for a presidential spouse. A president often needs a confidant who can relate to these feelings at such a pivotal time. An advisor can support and hold these feelings of loss without worry that there will be repercussions with the board or an awkward slip of the tongue in unguarded moments in the community.
The time of transition can also be a highly insecure time for presidents. Once the announcement of a departure is made, presidents are suddenly confronted by the finality of their own role. Members of the community can be quick to put forward names of successors. Sometimes it just feels too quick for a president still adjusting to the reality of their own separation. Some presidents find that a donor who was fully committed to a project now wants to “wait and see who becomes the next president.” Faculty and staff who have spent a lifetime at the institution can feel jilted by a presidential departure, while others cheer it, and the rumor mill starts to swirl about where the president is going next. These occurrences are expected in a time of transition. A president must remain humble, unflappable, grateful, and thick-skinned in a season of transition, even when these moments feel like they might last forever.
Gratitude expressed and achievements celebrated with sincerity by the board and the community can be a balm that heals the hearts of family members and a president who has sacrificed so much in service to the university. A board can make a good ending more likely by wishing the president well in the next season of life and connecting the outgoing president with opportunities that represent new sources of purpose after the presidency.
With beloved presidents, a board may try to show gratitude by offering a position in the university after the presidency. This can work in some circumstances with the right cast of characters and clear rules of engagement. The outgoing president needs to be realistic about the challenges of having a front-row seat to the reversal of significant initiatives or changes in strategic direction. It is an exercise in humility, silence, and subordination of self for the greater good.
In most cases, a board would do better to invest in the outgoing president in a way that sets them up for success outside the university or at another institution. Today that may mean connecting the outgoing president with a network of non-profit board opportunities and invitations to leverage a president’s executive experience for mentoring and leadership development outside the university. The board would also be wise to invest in services for the outgoing president to develop new resume materials, a bio, and a refreshed LinkedIn presence.
A departing president with a new purpose does not diminish the university or the board, and it reduces the temptation to preserve an unhealthy or meddlesome connection that often clouds a presidential transition. An outgoing president with a new purpose and goals the day he steps down will benefit the board, the next president, and the university.
A Good Ending for the Successor President
A board and president who have collaborated well on a good ending reap numerous benefits for the search committee and the next president. After all, savvy candidates for a presidency will carefully parse institutional communication and coverage of the announcement of a presidential departure for any signs of trouble. They will call friends and colleagues to understand the reasons for the departure of the outgoing president and the perceived state of relations between the board and the president. Boards and presidents that fail to attend to a good ending, which is the first step of leadership transition, put the institution at risk. Anything short of this will scare off strong successor candidates, stall institutional progress, and may prolong, rather than shorten, the presidential transition.
Once the search is finished, the new president needs the unequivocal support of the governing board. It helps the new president know that the prior president's relationship has now transitioned. A clear and positive ending provides a defined boundary and a clear handoff to the next president with the oversight of the board chair. It allows board members to remember their duty of loyalty to the institution, not a former president, however beloved this person may be. A good ending provides a grateful boundary that becomes a binding limit to keep a former president from engaging board members or former employees in a manner that can undermine a new president. The outgoing president can also give a gift to the new president when she says, “You are the new president, and I sincerely wish you well.” Most new presidents will have many doubts, but they should not doubt that the board and the former president have made the critical transition from one leader to another.
Conclusion
I am regularly blessed to meet and spend time with many former students from my days as a professor. We often reminisce about the courses they took with me, our study abroad experiences, or their reflections on things I told them during advising appointments. Sometimes, they remind me of something foolish they thought they said or wrote when we first started working together. Often, they are embarrassed about these early errors, while I can only remember and marvel at the people they have become. An academic community should have much grace for the fleeting missteps of a new learner, including a new president. But it is actually the good impressions at the end of a story that endure the longest. Boards and presidents would indeed do well to remember that “all’s well that ends well.”
Michael is a grateful beneficiary of the positive ending given to him by the good people of Calvin University and MyNextSeason, and is now passionate about enabling this experience for other leaders. Are you ready to start planning your leadership transition? Contact Michael Le Roy for a free, confidential consultation.