Handing Over Leadership

Image: EA UTC

Groups thrive when they’re led by committed, talented, and hardworking organisers. If they’re not handed off to enthusiastic and competent people when organisers leave, the group may become less active or go entirely defunct. Succession problems are a frequent killer of good groups.

This is a particular problem for uni groups, which are robbed of organisers every time one graduates. Good leadership handovers don’t always happen automatically–so here are some tips to make your handover go smoothly. These are mostly written with uni groups in mind, but some will also be of use to city groups.

Getting in a Good Position Early

Long before you are in a position to decide on a successor, you can take steps to ensure you have a large pool of candidates to choose from when the time comes. University students should focus on recruiting first-year students so your members don’t all graduate at the same time. Let promising younger students take over responsibilities gradually in order to give them more leadership experience and get a better understanding of their fit for group leadership. EA Cambridge has formalised this process into a Mentorship Program.

Even if you're not a university student, you can still focus on outreach to new members, and get existing members involved so they can get familiar with how the organization works.

Consider Leadership Transitions in your Committee Structure

Some uni groups have chosen to design their committee structure to help transitions. Here are some examples:

• Having two co-presidents - Some groups have two co-presidents from two consecutive years run the group, each for two years, so that there will never need to be a total leadership handover.

• Choosing a president with two years left to graduate and having an advisor - others choose a president from the group of members that have two years left before they graduate. That way the previous president becomes an advisor in their final year (this has the advantage of avoiding lessening the responsibilities of organisers in their senior years, during which they might be writing a thesis or searching for jobs).

• Holding an application process - this can work well if you are likely to have more people capable and interested people than you have available roles in the committee, or if it is common at your university to hold application processes. The executive board applicants fill out an application form, get interviewed, and present platforms on how they envision the group for the next year.

How to Select your Successor

Choose next year’s leadership early—ideally at least three months before you hand over responsibilities to them. Be sure that they have a solid understanding of EA and of the group’s purpose.

If possible, choose someone who is familiar with the existing community and who has already helped you organise the group in some capacity.

The Handover Period

• Ensure the new organisers are connected with the support they need from outside of the group:

  • Ask them to sign up to the EA Groups Newsletter.

  • Invite them to join groups for organisers on Facebook and Slack.

  • Introduce them to the CEA Groups Team on groups@centreforeffectivealtruism.org.

  • Connect them to the organisation at your university responsible for supporting groups

• Update the group details on the EA Hub.

• Have a period of time in which you can show new organisers the ropes by discussing decisions with them and letting them sit in on strategy meetings.

• If possible, emphasise to your successor that you’re happy to be contacted by them in future whenever they want more support.

• Ensure anyone else in your group handing over leadership responsibilities to a successor also meets one-on-one with their replacement to pass on any specific knowledge or advice.

How to Write Handover Documents

When possible, make handover documents to explain in writing what your successors will need to know to run the group in your absence. This is particularly important if your group’s committee is changing substantially, but it may not be as crucial when the new committee has been thoroughly involved. Make the document as readable as possible (e.g. by having bullet points instead of long paragraphs), so that your successors will be more likely to use them.

If multiple organisers are handing over their responsibilities, encourage them to each write their own sections for the document, and include everyone’s contact details so that successors can ask for further information.

Potential Inclusions

• An overview of your group’s activities

• Guidelines for using group communication channels

• A typical timeline for running an event

• Tips for running specific types of events

• Example shopping lists

• Write-ups from previous, one-off events

• Guidance on writing emails and using your social media accounts

• Suggestions for other local organisations to collaborate with

• The protocol for applying for grants from EA organisations or other institutions

• Suggestions of ways that they can continue to foster their own EA development

• Suggestions of ways that the community can help them to maintain their well-being

• Suggestions for how to prioritise between activities, as well as any other activities you would have run if less constrained

• Lessons you’ve learned from mistakes

• A reminder that good leaders shouldn’t be afraid to innovate and make improvements

• Anything else you wish you’d known before you started

Example Handover Documents

Each group will have different requirements for their handover documents, but these documents may act as useful models.

• Yale

• Cambridge

• EA NYU

• EA Blue