Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Intergovernmental organizations help coordinate local governments in the United States to address regional policy challenges, such as economic development, transportation, and environmental concerns. Such organizations function as intermediaries for planning, resource-sharing, and federal and state funding distribution. However, leadership stability is crucial for their longevity, especially in the face of workforce shortages. This line of research explores whether intergovernmental organizations’ boards engage in discussions about succession planning and implement executive coaching as an intensive form of succession planning to ensure future leadership stability. A survey of 583 executive directors in 2021 gathered insights into their planning efforts, with responses from 226 leaders of various intergovernmental entities. We find factors such as financial capacity and organization type influence the likelihood of succession planning, but organizational age and size do not.

Keywords

federalism intergovernmental planning leadership regionalism

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Agranoff

2006. “Inside Collaborative Networks: Ten Lessons for Public Managers.” Public Administration Review 66 (s1): 56–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00666.

Allison

2002. “Into the Fire: Boards and Executive Transitions.” Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 341–51. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.12402 .

Aptology. 2023, April 2. “Deloitte + PWC: Why Do 86 % of Companies Fail at Succession Planning?” Retrieved from aptology.com. https://www.aptology.com/blog/deloitte-pwc-why-do-86-of-companies-fail-at-succession-planning/.

Bello-Gomez

R. A.

Rutherford

. 2021. “Predicting Executive Vacancies: An Organization Approach.” Public Administration 101: 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2020.1852056

Boyne

Dahya

. 2003. “Executive Succession and the Performance of Public Organizations.” Public Administration 13: 179–200. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mug027

Carman

J. G.

Leland

S. M.

Wilson

A. J.

. 2010. “Crisis in Leadership or Failure to Plan?: Insights from Charlotte, North Carolina.” Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 93–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.20014 .

Dougherty

G. W.

Leland

. 2021. “The Future of Collaborative Leadership in Contemporary Regional Entities.” Urban Affairs Review.

Dougherty

G. W.

Miller

D. Y.

. 2010. “Municipal Managers: Regional Champions or Agents of Parochialism?” Journal of Public Affairs Education, 451–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2010.12001608 .

Ebdon

2007. “Underpinning Government: Capital and Infrastructure Management in State and Local Government.” In In Pursuit of Performance: Management Systems in State and Local Government, edited by Ingraham

P. W.

, 57–81. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University.

10.

Farthing

2013. “Succession Planning: The Right People in the Right Positions at the Right TIme.” Hospital Pharmacy, 175–6. https://doi.org/10.1310/hpj4803-175 .

11.

Froelich

McKee

Rathge

. 2011. “Succession Planning in Nonprofit Organizations.” Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 3–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.20037 .

12.

Goetz

A. R.

Dempsey

P. S.

Larson

. 2002. “Metropolitan Planning Organizations: Findings and Recommendations for Improving Transportation Planning.” Publius: The Journal of Federalims, 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a004937 .

13.

Hall

J. L.

2017. “Performance Management: Confronting the Challenges for Local Government.” Public Administration Quarterly, 43–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/073491491704100103 .

14.

Hatcher

S. D.

2023. Building a Solid Foundation: Succession Planning Practices Improving Knowledge Management and Employee Retention Within Higher Education Institutions. College Park, MD: University of Maryland.

15.

Hill

2005. “The Effects of Managerial Succession on Organization Performance.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 585–98. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mui034 .

16.

Hou

2007. “Putting Money Where the Need Is: Managing the Finances of State and Local Governments.” In In Pursuit of Performance: Management Systems in State and Local Government, edited by Ingraham

P. W.

, 15–56. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University.

17.

Hou

Moynihan

D. P.

Ingraham

P. W.

. 2003. “Capacity, Management, and Performance.” American Review of Public Administration, 295–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074003251651 .

18.

Ibarra

2005. “Succession Planning: An Idea Whose Time has Come.” Public Management 16: 18–24. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0130.

19.

Kilburg

R. R.

1997. “Coaching and Executive Character: Core Problems and Basic Approaches.” Consulting Psychology Journal, 281–99. https://doi.org/10.1037/1061-4087.49.4.281 .

20.

Knight

G. Q.

2023. Executive Transition in Nonprofit Organizations. Columbia, MD: Walden University.

21.

Lee

. 2022. “A Longitudinal Network Analysis of Intergovernmental Collaboration for Local Economic Development.” Urban Affairs Review, 229–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087420949936 .

22.

Leland

S. M.

Carman

J. G.

Swartz

N. J.

. 2012. “Understanding Managerial Succession Planning at the Local Level: A Study of the Opportunities Facing Cities and Counties.” National Civic Review, 44–51. https://doi.org/10.1002/ncr.21076.

23.

McGuire

Agranoff

. 2011. “The Limitations of Public Management Networks.” Public Administration, 265–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2011.01917.x.

24.

Melton

E. K.

Meier

K. J.

. 2017. “For the Want of a Nail: The Interaction of Managerial Capacity and Human Resource Management on Organization Performance.” Public Administration Review, 118–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12611.

25.

Miller

D. Y.

Cox

. 2014. Governing the Metropolitan Region: America's New Frontier. New York: Taylor & Francis.

26.

Miller

D. Y.

Nelles

. 2018. “Order Out of Chaos: The Case for a new Conceptualization of the Cross-Boundary Instruments of American Regionalism.” Urban Affairs Review 54: 325–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087418773905.

27.

Miller

D. Y.

Nelles

Dougherty

G. W.

Rickabaugh

. 2019. Discovering American Regionalism: An Introductin to Regional Intergovernmental Organizations. New York: Routledge.

28.

Murdaugh

1998. Organizational Effectiveness and Executive Succession: Conclusions About and Implications for Florida's Municipal Police Chiefs. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

29.

Obrenovic

Godinic

Tsoy

Khan

M. A.

Jakhongirov

. 2020. “Sustaining Enterprise Operations and Productivity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: ‘Enterprise Effectiveness and Sustainability Model’.” Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12155981.

30.

Pfeffer

Davis-Blake

. 1986. “Administrative Succession and Organizational Performance: How Administrator Experience Mediates the Succession Effect.” Academy of Management Journal 29: 72–83. https://doi.org/10.2307/255860.

31.

Pfeffer

Salancik

. 2015. “External Control of Organizations—Resource Dependence Perspective.” In Organizational Behavior 2, edited by Miner

, 355–70. New York: Routledge.

32.

Pynes

J. E.

2004. “The Implementation of Workforce and Succession Planning in the Public Sector.” Public Personnel Management, 389–404. https://doi.org/10.1177/009102600403300404.

33.

Raynis

S. R.

Cleek

M. A.

. 2008. “Research and Interventions for Stress Reduction in a Hospital Setting.” In Administrative Leadership in the Public Sector, edited by van Wart

Dicke

, 263–270. New York: Routledge.

34.

Reeves

T. Z.

2010. “Mentoring Programs in Succession Planning.” State and Local Government Review, 61–6. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X10368036 .

35.

Rickabaugh

2018. Finding the Unique Balance: Local Government Representation on the Boards of Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (RIGOs). Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh.

36.

Rickabaugh

2023. “Regional Public Sector Organiztions: A Broader Taxanomic Classification to Cross-Pollinate Empirical Research.” Public Administration, 271–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12779 .

37.

Rothwell

W. J.

2010. Effective Succession Planning: Ensuring Leadership Continuity and Building Talent from Within. New York: AMACOM.

38.

Roundtable

E. D.

2020, February 24. “RIGOs Mini-Conference—Needs of RIGOs.” (G. W. Dougherty, Interviewer).

39.

Santora

J. C.

Sarros

J. C.

Bozer

Esposito

Bassi

. 2015. “Nonprofit Executive Succession Planning and Organizational Sustainability.” Journal of Applied Managment and Entrepreneurship, 66–83. https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2015.oc.00006 .

40.

Schall

1997. “Public Sector Succession: A Strategic Approach to Sustaining Innovation.” Public Administration Review, 4–10. https://doi.org/10.2307/976686

41.

Selden

S. C.

Sowa

J. E.

. 2015. “Voluntary Turnover in Nonprofit Human Service.” Human Service 39: 182–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2015.1031416.

42.

Singleton

Cunningham

. 2008, March 13. “Executive Director Experience and Tenure Survey.” Retrieved from Volunteer Center, United Way of King County, 2000. http://www.uwkc.org/.

43.

Tao

Zhao

. 2019. ““Passing the Baton”: The Effects of CEO Succession Planning on Firm Performance and Volatility.” Corporate Governance, 61–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/corg.12251 .

44.

Tebbe

Stewart

A. J.

Hughes

M. B.

Adams

. 2017. “Executive Succession: Closing the Gap Between Ideals and Practice.” Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 338–45. https://doi.org/10.18666/JNEL-2017-V7-I4-8640 .

45.

Teegarden

2008, March 13. “Nonprofit Executive Leadership and Transition Survey.” Retrieved from The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2004. http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/executive_transition_survey_report2004.

46.

Tierney

2006. “The Leadership Deficit.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, 4: 26–35.

47.

Whisman

H. E.

2013. Regional Councils and the Influence of State Laws on Regional Governance. Charlotte, NC: University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

48.

Wikstrom

1980. “Studying Regional Councils: The Quest for a Developmental Theory.” Southern Review of Public Administration 451: 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/000271628045100138.

49.

Wilkerson

2007. “Effective Succession Planning in the Public Sector.” Watson Wyatt Worldwide, 1–7.

50.

Word

Sowa

. 2017. The Nonprofit Human Resource Management Handbook: From Theory to Practice. New York: Routledge.

51.

Yawson

2019. Human Resource Development and Executive Leadership Succession. New York: Sage.

Succession Planning for the Future of Intergovernmental Organizations in the United States

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References