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: Challenge of Founder’s Syndrome | Texas Commission on the Arts
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Challenge of Founder’s Syndrome
Challenge of Founder’s Syndrome
An organization still run by its founder has to deal with transition issues not faced by other groups. The founder may be the personification of the organization and its artistic mission, and the board is usually reluctant to make the first move toward change. Founder’s syndrome has the following symptoms: A strong leader who builds an organization from scratch finds it difficult to delegate responsibility or develop staff that could potentially take over. 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.