New research from North Carolina State University finds that turnover among executive leaders at nonprofit organizations is often plagued by problems – with very few transitional periods mirroring the scenarios painted in the professional literature. “And, because executive turnover is inevitable, it’s important to pay attention to what organizations can do to limit any adverse impacts turnover can have on a nonprofit and its mission.”

To better understand the challenges involved in nonprofit executive turnover, Stewart interviewed 40 executives of nonprofit organizations about their experiences during their transition into leadership roles.

“One of the things I learned was that nonprofit boards do not become more functional during times of turmoil – so if leadership turnover stems from problems in the board itself, a new executive won’t resolve that problem,” Stewart says. “Too little” boards offered virtually no support or oversight to executives; “too much” boards tried to micromanage executives; and “just right” boards used the turnover to assess their organizational needs and hire an executive who was equipped to address those needs.

When interviewing the executives about why their predecessors had left their organizations, Stewart found that only nine of previous executives had left due to “voluntary retirement.”