Title: Challenge of Founder’s Syndrome | Texas Commission on the Arts
Headings: Challenge of Founder’s Syndrome
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Challenge of Founder’s Syndrome
Parting is such sweet sorrow
What are founders thinking?
Should the founder remain on the board?
What can happen if a leader stays too long?
Should the founder continue after a replacement is named?
What are the most difficult issues for the founder to face?
Are there training opportunities that address founder’s syndrome?
What is the best way to confront the issue of organizational transition?
What happens if the founder wants to continue to work with the nonprofit?
Is there any way that founders can continue working with their organizations?
Is there a graceful way to send them off?

Content: The founder alone knows where every penny of every grant went. The mission, the vision, the story, the administration, the fundraising, the programs – the whole organization – is embodied in the founder. The artistic product starts to suffer, the audience might start slipping away, and the demographics become less favorable. Sometimes the founder steps down gracefully, but for most organizations, getting the founder to accept the change is the most difficult problem of the transition. An organization whose founder stays too long can start to decline. It is easy to recognize founder’s syndrome when you see it. The problem is compounded when the board is complacent, too loyal, or unwilling to take charge of the organization. The board has to be able to recognize a problem and take strategic steps to find its way out of the situation. Founder succession can be handled well if the board focuses on what is best for the organization, remaining sensitive to the feelings of the founder but facing the issue directly. Boards find this difficult, but if the culture of the organization has been to think strategically, a succession plan will be part of the group’s long-range planning.