The Next CSSL ED

​
We are launching the search for my successor at the Center for Social Sector Leadership (CSSL) today, so I figured this was a good time to check in on the interim-ing experience.  I’ve been at Haas for almost eight months now and it feels both like a lot has happened, and like I’m still just figuring out how things work. I’ve wrapped up my second 90 day plan and have moved into my third, and looking back at those documents, along with the bi-weekly memos that I’ve been sending to the board co-chairs, provides a helpful framework for assessing my progress and the areas where I still feel like there is work to be done.

There’s a game I like - generally played at the end of the day or to wrap up an activity -  where you reflect on an experience by calling out something that delighted you, something that surprised you, and something that inspired you.  With my experience at CSSL, I’ve been delighted by my ability to bring my network to bear in supporting both the organization and the people associated.  Introductions, recruiting organizations to participate in our board fellows and social impact consulting programs, and nominating folks for fellowships (congratulations to Krutika Menon!) have been a blast.  When I got into interim-ing I was initially focused on bringing my nonprofit leadership experiences to bear in helping organizational transitions and I was imagining more of a maven role in the Malcolm Gladwell Tipping Point taxonomy. Being a connector has been a delightful bonus. The CSSL ED job is a delightful manifestation of the Maya Angelou quote: "I do my best because I'm counting on you counting on me."

The surprise probably shouldn’t continue to be such a surprise, but the pace and processes of higher ed – and a big, state institutional version of higher ed at that  -  takes a lot of getting used to.  My reaction to the various ways in which unexpected processes show up has morphed during my tenure as the interim ED – from confusion to outrage to wry amusement and creative acceptance. There’s undoubtedly a danger in that – workarounds as the default are hard on a culture (h/t to Jennifer Pahlka).  But I do see that there is also a way in which the randomness of some protocols has helped me to take myself less seriously and to adopt a more sanguine approach to getting things done.

Finally, on the inspiration front, I think it’s a tie between the people (getting to work with the students, staff and faculty has been a great reminder that there is a very real and collective desire to be a part of something bigger than oneself) and the sense that an intentionally designed interim process can really make a difference (shout out once again to Third Sector and the Interims Executive Academy) .

I set out eight months ago to do six super sexy things: to create a fundraising plan and identify some shorter term fundraising opportunities, to support and stabilize the staff, to steady some of the organizational systems and practices, to improve internal and external communications, to support new programs and to lead a search process.  We have made some progress in the first five areas (though I am getting my butt kicked in my effort to navigate the UC finance system), and I am genuinely excited to turn to the task of leading the search process.  Just as a teacher’s success is measured not in the teaching but in the learning that ensues, I’m convinced that the success of an interim has to be measured in the experience of her successor.

I would be deeply grateful if you would share the official job description (here) along with the job profile we created (here).*  If you are interested in the role, or know someone who might be, I’m happy to chat.  I’m working with a really great search committee from CSSL’s Advisory Board (Sally Carlson, Dwayne Marsh, Linda Wood,  Lynne Heinrich, Bob Miller and Nora Silver ex-officio) and we are collectively committed to creating a great process for all who participate in the goal of finding the right next leader for CSSL. 

I’m imagining that every interim gig will be slightly different, but there is something particularly exciting/terrifying about doing it all for the first time.  I still have a lot of work to do to ensure that the transition goes smoothly, but this inflection point feels a little like the moment in which I begin to let go even more.  Many thanks for following along and thanks too for your help in getting the word out about the search.
 
*see above re workarounds

---