Handing Over the Reins: a Charity’s 6-Step System

Geoffrey Canada, chief executive of Harlem Children’s Zone, recruited Anne Williams-Isom as the charity’s chief operating officer. After four years in that role, she took over from Mr. Canada when he stepped down in July. Here are tips based on how they made the transition together.

Expose the CEO candidate to all of the challenges of the job.

Mr. Canada made sure Ms. Williams-Isom got experience dealing with donors and clients and let her solve problems on her own.

Soak up the organization’s culture.

The CEO candidate carefully observed how the staff works and what it values, sometimes tamping down her instinct to speak up.

Build on the charity’s successes.

While still chief operating officer, Ms. Williams-Isom started a forum, HCZ Stat, in which senior managers could discuss and solve client and program problems before they got bigger.

Give the new CEO a solid financial base.

The organization’s board decided to build its endowment before Mr. Canada stepped down, to help alleviate fundraising pressure on the incoming boss.

Announce the transition to staff, clients, and donors at the same time.

The charity live-streamed an event that broadcast the news in February.

Follow up.

Workshops for the staff gave managers a chance to discuss their feelings about the change. And the new boss visited all of Harlem Children’s Zone’s sites to tell her story and explain her priorities and vision for the charity.