I Was Told There Would Be Snacks: A Nonprofit Podcast · KUDZUKIAN

Things to Do Before Your Executive Search

·32 min·2 clips

Tanya Fry warns nonprofits against assuming they know what role needs to be filled before even taking inventory.

The setup is simple. Kevin Dean introduces Tanya Fry as the person in the room who can translate HR legalese for everyone who is not an esquire. Then the episode gets right down to the work. Nonprofits may want to leap into finding the next executive, but Tanya keeps pulling the conversation back to what has to happen first. Boards need to build the committee with care. That can mean newer board members, longtime board members, and trusted community partners who already understand the organization. Staff cannot be an afterthought. Tanya's point is plain: staff should have a real place in the process, even if they are not sitting on the search committee. A small staff might put someone directly in the room. A larger team may be better served through panel interviews. The useful bit is that nobody pretends there is one perfect template. Tanya keeps coming back to knowing your staff, knowing the organization, and being honest about the extra weight the process puts on people. Then comes the calibration meeting. Tanya likes blind resumes because they force the committee to look at credentials before names, familiarity, or old assumptions take over. Some people hate that. They want names, they think they already know who can do the job, and they want to skip the awkward part. Tanya does not really budge: try the process everyone agreed to, leave room if the first pass misses, and do not toss the structure the minute it feels uncomfortable. Kevin keeps it loose enough that the advice never turns into a policy manual. The close stays rooted in community, with Tanya pointing listeners toward nonprofit help in Memphis and beyond, and Kevin sending them back to Tennessee Nonprofit Network resources.

As heard by us

A practical guide to nonprofit executive search and succession planning before the search begins.

Kevin Dean and Tanya Fry make a solid case for doing the hard setup work before an executive search starts. The conversation stays practical: who belongs in the room, how staff can take part, and how blind resume reviews and calibration meetings can keep the focus on credentials…

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Need to replace a leader without turning the process into chaos?

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