It’s never too early to start planning for the next conference I always say. Well, at least I have been saying it recently as a way to encourage some members of the Emerging Leadership Institute alumni to put their heads together to see how we can address some of the concerns we had last year in the upcoming conference this January.

A few of us had a conference call yesterday on the topic and will be pursuing some initiatives, some of which will make the conference experience more enjoyable for ELI alumni and new participants alike. So if you were thinking of applying for the program, it will be even more worth it next year than it was this past year! Watch the Arts Presenters Website for the opening of the application period.

One of the biggest issues that emerged during our discussions last year was the issue of succession planning. Many people felt they were being overlooked for grooming, if there was any concern about grooming anyone to begin with. Something I have heard mentioned since then is that there seems to be an unwillingness for people to stay with an organization long enough to even be considered for a leadership position, not to mention those who leave non-profit altogether for better pay.

I think we could get into a chicken-egg argument about the situation. Are people leaving because they don’t see any opportunity for advancement in the organization or are people not being given opportunities because the organization doesn’t want to invest time cultivating skills in someone who is only going to leave?

I am not sure what the answer is and I imagine different people and organizations have a variety of factors that motivate staying or going most strongly. In a discussion/interview with Jim Undercofler, now President and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Drew McManus addresses the desire to pursue a fast track career ladder and the salary arms races in the orchestra world. (Segment 5 contains the pertinent dialogue.)

Drew talks about how there exists a fairly clear predetermined path one should take if they want to be on a fast track to advancement in the orchestra world. The focus for administrators and musicians isn’t on what one has accomplished, but rather how prestigious the organization one is working for is and how to advance to the next stage.

At the same time, orchestras operate in constant fear of losing an administrator to a neighbor and end up paying salaries that may be out of proportion with the value they receive from the manager. Though he doesn’t give any specific examples, Drew suggests that orchestras to provide reasons other than money to reward administrators for staying and “building something spectacular.” I imagine these alternative rewards could be anything from additional training and education to use of timeshares.

The other thing that Drew and Mr. Undercofler allude to is the fact that not everyone thrives in every type of environment. Some people do better in smaller organizations or certain geographic locations and both the managers and boards of directors are ill served by chasing prestigious names over best fits.

Probably the bedrock upon which good succession planning is going to be based is managers learning what type of environments they best fit and boards of directors exploring what alternative benefits to money they can offer. Money has been the measure of value for jobs for so long, people really aren’t in the practice of being creative about employing alternative assets nor are job seekers practiced at considering or even suggesting those options.