In a June 2024 article, Katherine Gonzalez noted, “Top-level leaders in community colleges are not only aging, but also retiring in waves, with an average tenure of five to seven years.” This emerging environment can leave institutions facing expensive searches, long stints with interim appointees and uncertainty and damaged morale when a senior administrator departs.
One feasible solution to the substantial number of vacancies in senior-level positions that community college trustees should seriously consider is succession planning that incorporates hiring from within. Many organizations lack formal succession plans, making it harder to fill key roles effectively.
As retirements loom, the absence of a strategy for identifying and promoting internal talent can lead to gaps in leadership at critical moments. By providing clear paths for internal promotion, colleges can retain their top talent and motivate employees to invest more in their current roles, fostering long-term loyalty, job satisfaction and institutional stability.
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Significant additional benefits to internal hiring include saving the college time and money, as well as lessening the culture shock that often occurs when external candidates assume responsibility. With justification, there can be a great deal of trepidation about job security and impact to the institution’s culture and values when adjusting to the leadership of a new chief executive officer.
Proven internal candidates embrace the organization’s mission and are familiar with the strengths and the challenges of the institution, which significantly shortens the time needed to advance in areas of excellence and shore up weaknesses. Known entities ensure stability, enhance trust and have a much shorter on-ramp. Leaders who are familiar with the needs of the college and the surrounding region can be highly effective in supporting fundraising and friend-raising due to previously established relationships with community leaders and donors.
Succession planning: Advance or exit?
One such case of a highly successful organizational transition occurred at Carroll Community College in Westminster, Maryland. Prior to the retirement of the third president of the college, the provost was identified as a candidate for the presidency.
After a thorough interview and vetting process that included feedback from all constituents, the provost was confirmed and shortly thereafter promoted to the role of associate president. There followed a six-month period wherein the associate president worked closely with and shadowed the president, a process that helped ensure a smooth transition upon the president’s retirement.
This foresight to prepare the new president proved to be extremely beneficial to the entire college. The official day of transition felt organic and natural, with a new president and college community accustomed to and optimistic about the new leadership.
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when it was commonplace for vice presidents to advance to presidencies within their own organizations. What was once a customary practice—grooming and promoting internal leaders—appears to have become the exception for advancement to senior-level positions.
This implies that excellence and innovation can be achieved only through external hiring—even though evidence surrounding recruitment and retention suggests differently. For example, a recent LinkedIn report suggests that organizations that hire leaders from within realize an overall increase in tenure and promotion rates along with higher levels of engagement in professional development (Lewis & Smith, 2024). When highly skilled internal candidates do not have an opportunity for advancement, their only option is to leave the organization.
Maintaining stability in leadership has allowed Carroll Community College to efficiently and effectively advance. There is strong support in the literature about the importance of succession planning and preparing internal candidates for advancement.
Balancing the trade-offs
In the recent Chronicle of Higher Education forum, “The College Presidency is Broken. Here’s How to Fix It,” 13 higher education leaders shared their suggestions. Brian Rosenberg questioned why higher education is so bad at succession planning, noting that there is little evidence that candidates appointed to internal interim appointments have been vetted and prepared.
He noted that when these interim appointees are excellent, it is the “result of good fortune rather than good planning.” Leo Botstein added, “A president has to have the respect of the faculty and students and be more than an ambassador, salesperson or politician.”
Marjorie Hass said, “We can also give up the magical thinking that accompanies searches and do more to develop talent from within, promoting people who understand and already love an institution’s culture and mission. We can ensure the president has the resources to build collaborative leadership teams grounded in a shared love and vision for the institution.”
When a board determines that major change is needed, seeking an external candidate can be a smart solution. External hires can bring fresh ideas, new perspectives and a breadth of experience that internal candidates might lack.
On the other hand, external hiring is often expensive and time-consuming, and there is no guarantee that the institution will find a candidate who is a good fit, which can lead to a second round of searching, and sometimes an interim president is needed to fill the void. An institution can lose a great deal of ground during an interim presidency.
Colleges must carefully balance the trade-offs of looking within and beyond when searching for senior executives, taking into consideration the pool of available talent, the possible need for a new vision and direction, and the impact that bringing in someone from outside of the organization will have on students, faculty and staff.
References
Gonzalez, K. (2024, June). Training and retaining Emerging Community College Leaders. The League for Innovation in the community college.
Lewis, G., & Smith-Dell, J. (2024, May 7). The benefits of building new leaders internally, according to LinkedIn Data.
The college presidency is broken. Here’s how to fix it. The Chronicle of Higher Education. (2024, October 8).
