I spoke to a board member who served on the search committee for a new Executive Director. When their favored candidate turned them down, they felt a lot of pressure. As a result, they settled for a candidate they had rejected – who unfortunately did not last long. This board member reflects on what could have been done differently.  

A Great Transition—Until It Wasn’t

As told by a nonprofit board member somewhere in the US

I was a board member at an education-oriented nonprofit where, honestly, things were going well. We had a terrific Executive Director. She was strong, trusted, and effective, and because of that, being a board member felt easy. The organization was stable, staff morale was good, and our role as a board was what you hope it will be—strategic, supportive, and not constantly in crisis mode.

Then she decided to take some time off from her career to pursue some personal goals. To her credit, this was handled well. She gave us three months’ notice which was plenty of runway. We had an internal staff person step up as interim ED. We formed a search committee made up of smart, capable people (and me), and we took the process seriously. We worked with a recruiter, went through candidates carefully, and eventually landed on someone we were genuinely excited about. We really liked him. He felt right.

And then he turned us down.

Don’t Create Pressure that Leads to Bad Decisions

It felt like the floor dropped out from under us. As a board, we felt like we’d screwed up. We were suddenly under a lot of pressure—self-imposed pressure, but very real—to fill the role quickly.

Adding to the pressure was the interim ED who had been in place for about three months. We thought he was fine at first. Manageable. Not ideal, but fine for now. Over time, it became clear that the interim wasn’t as strong as the role required. There was nothing dramatic or unethical. But it wasn’t good. He was taking on authority he hadn’t been given. Staff were complaining. Culture felt fragile. Morale was low.

This wasn’t happening because the board was asleep at the wheel. We had a strong, experienced board chair who knew what she was doing. She was on site once a week and attended staff meetings. Our vice chair was also very seasoned. We were working with a recruiter we trusted.

When our candidate turned us down, we discussed whether it would work to keep the interim in place longer while we redid the search. The chair said, “I don’t think we have time for the recruiter to go back and rebuild the pool.” Because of the situation with the interim, we agreed. Even the recruiter seemed to agree.

Don’t Ignore Your Established Criteria

That’s when we made the mistake. We went back to a candidate we had already passed on.

We had done the upfront work well. We were clear about what we needed. We had named required competencies, nice-to-haves, and stretch qualities.

The candidate we settled on was coming out of a large foundation. He had not run a small nonprofit. There wasn’t the infrastructure he was used to. There weren’t layers of staff or deep resources. He was more of a technocrat, and what the organization needed was a hands-on operator who could lead in a resource-constrained environment.

We passed on him for real reasons. Not vague reasons. Not nitpicking. Solid concerns about fit, experience, and readiness. But under pressure, those reasons started to feel… negotiable. We told ourselves stories. Maybe he could grow into it. Maybe our concerns weren’t that big. Maybe we were being too picky.

In reality, we were settling.

He lasted 18 months. Then we had to let him go.

Don’t Choose Speed over Judgment – Be Creative

Looking back, it’s clear keeping the interim in the same position wasn’t an option. But that also wasn’t the only option. We could have been more creative. We could have found another interim. We could have reshaped responsibilities. We could have bought ourselves time while restarting the search.

Instead, we chose speed over judgment.

Apply the Same Rigor to Your Board Work as You Do Your Professional Work

I’ve thought a lot about that decision. Boards are critical to their organizations and to the nonprofit sector. Yet even with an experienced, thoughtful board, we made a bad decision. I think there are several reasons for this.

Most board members have other professional jobs – sometimes in the nonprofit sector, other times in the for-profit or public sectors. But often board members ignore what they know are best practices from their professional lives. I am not sure why this happens, but I suspect it is because we are part-time, unpaid volunteers without daily proximity to the organization. Time is also an issue. Job searches take a lot of time and effort. When board members have other higher-priority commitments, doing back-to-back ED searches can be a lot.

I’ve also been a hiring manager in other organizations, and one thing I know from that side of the table is when you hire someone you know you are going to work with them every day. That reality acts as a natural brake on settling. You know you’ll feel the consequences immediately and constantly if they are the wrong fit.

Boards don’t have that same check. We don’t work with the Executive Director every day. We see them in meetings, we hear reports, we get filtered information. That distance, combined with other time commitments, makes it easier to convince ourselves that “good enough” is good enough. But it shouldn’t be.

Lessons Learned

I still believe deeply in boards and have great respect for the people who serve on them. But this experience taught me how easy it is—even for experienced boards—to make the wrong call under pressure. The real discipline is recognizing when we’re about to settle and choosing not to.

• Pressure is not a reason to settle. When a board says “we don’t have time,” that’s often a sign it’s time to slow down.
• If you passed on someone for real reasons, trust those reasons. Time pressure doesn’t fix gaps in fit or experience.
• Stay Professional. In their professional roles, board members have skills, experience, and rigor that they apply to hiring situations. They should apply those as board members as well.
• Creativity buys time. When things don’t work out, be creative. Buy time instead of rushing decisions.
• Always plan for a “no.” Boards need real contingency plans if a top candidate declines.
• Settling costs more in the long run. Another failed hire means more disruption, more risk, and more work for everyone.