Navigating Through the In-Between with Interim Nonprofit Leadership with Erin Stratford Owens
12/2/2025
“As a part of our succession plan…This is just what we do. It’s mixed in. It’s a part of making the cake. We bring in an interim if any of our executive leadership team leave, whether it’s suddenly or a planned exit over a number of months. This is how we do this.”
How can nonprofit organizations navigate leadership transitions with steadiness and clarity? In episode 137 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton talks with Erin Stratford Owens, a seasoned interim executive director to answer this question. Carol and Erin talk about:
what makes interim leadership distinct from simply “holding down the fort” — it’s a time for honest reflection, system assessment, and preparing the path for what’s next.
how boards and staff can make the most of an interim period,
the common mistakes to avoid, and why slowing down to plan for sustainability — rather than reacting in urgency — is essential for long-term impact.
The conversation offers nonprofit leaders a grounded perspective on turning moments of uncertainty into opportunities for renewal and learning.
Episode highlights:
[00:08:26] What Interim Leadership Really Is
Bringing in an interim executive isn’t about filling a seat — it’s about creating a pause for reflection. Interims offer a neutral, arm’s-length view to assess culture, systems, and communication. Their role allows organizations to honor the past while thoughtfully preparing for the future.
[00:11:56] Misconceptions About Interims
One of the biggest misconceptions is that the interim’s job is to simply maintain the status quo. Instead, a good interim engagement is a strategic opportunity to assess, regroup, and realign. Including interim leadership as part of a succession plan should be seen as a healthy, proactive practice.
[00:15:21] Avoiding Common Mistakes
Keeping an interim in place too long — beyond a year or so — can blur boundaries and stall momentum. Interims are meant to look at the “now,” not own long-term relationships or strategic directions that belong to the next leader.
[00:18:46] Setting the Stage for the Next Leader
Interims should help maintain donor confidence and prepare relationships for hand-off. Their job is to stabilize the organization and pave the way for the incoming leader to succeed.
[00:20:26] The Board’s Crucial Role
An interim period is a prime opportunity for boards to step up — to govern, engage, and rebuild trust. Interims often help boards clarify their role, shift away from micromanaging, and practice stronger governance for the next chapter.
[00:22:41] Building Staff Trust
Transparency and quick trust-building with staff is important. Communicate clearly, meet regularly, and reassure staff that the goal is stability, not upheaval.
[00:25:36] Addressing Systems and Structure
From absent employee handbooks to inefficient HR and recordkeeping, interim periods often reveal structural gaps. Interims use this time to connect dots, document impact, and strengthen processes that will serve the organization long after she leaves.
[00:29:26] What Makes an Interim Successful
Strong board engagement and openness to change are essential. When boards resist adjustments, the interim’s impact is limited. Success depends on using this transition as a chance to make overdue improvements.
[00:30:56] From Urgency to Sustainability
Erin closes by encouraging nonprofit leaders to shift from frantic urgency to intentional sustainability. While the problems facing nonprofits are real and pressing, taking the time to act strategically ensures long-term effectiveness and organizational health.
Guest Bio:
Erin Stratford Owens is the founder and CEO of ESO Nonprofit Consulting, specializing in Interim Executive Leadership and coaching for nonprofits and nonprofit leaders in transition. Erin holds a BA in English from UNC-Greensboro and a Master's in Nonprofit Management from The New School's Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment. She is a Certified Interim Executive through Armstrong McGuire Interim Leadership Institute. With 12 years of experience as an in-house nonprofit Executive Director, her extensive interim leadership experience includes guiding organizations through critical transitions at Humane Society of the Piedmont, Partners Ending Homelessness, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater High Point, Greensboro Farmers Market, and Humane Society of Catawba County. She currently serves as Board Chair for the Guilford County Continuum of Care and as a Steering Committee member of the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium. When not working or volunteering, Erin enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids, two dogs, and a 16-year-old blind kitty cat named Smokie
Important Links and Resources:
Related Episodes:
Episode 98: Declining interest in nonprofit leadership
Episode 89: Don’t skip Gen X for leadership
Episode 54: Best of Leadership transitions
Episode 32: Exiting gracefully
Episode 27 Nonprofit Executive Searches
Episode 21 Investing in the next generation of nonprofit leaders
-
Carol Hamilton: How can organizations navigate leadership transitions with steadiness and clarity? My guest today on nonprofit Mission Impact, Erin Stratford Owen helps me answer this question. We talk about what makes LE Interim leadership distinct from simply holding down the fort, why? It's a time for honest reflection and system assessment and preparing for the path for what's next. How boards and staff can make the most of an interim period and the common mistakes that nonprofit organizations need to avoid. We also explore why slowing down to plan for sustainability rather than reacting and urgency is essential for your long-term impact. I appreciated how Erin approaches interim work as an integral part of good and healthy practice for nonprofit organizations.
Unfortunately, an executive leaving for whatever reason, whether it's retirement, a new opportunity or even being fired, can leave a nonprofit board feeling panicked. Two preventative things can help with this. First, having a succession plan, and this does not mean having identified the leader's successor. This means having a clear protocol for what steps need to be taken to manage that transition. What needs to happen and who is responsible for each step, and as part of that succession plan. Part number two, planning ahead to get an interim. As I have explored in a number of other episodes, this has a lot of benefits for organizations.
Check out episode 54, which includes highlights from a number of conversations I've had about leadership transitions as well as the role of interim directors. Leadership transitions are a critical inflection point for an organization. It's not simply a staffing change. It really impacts all aspects of the organization and its ecosystem.
And it provides an opportunity when taken to take stock, to take a beat, reassess, and get set for the next stage of the organization's growth and development. An interim when approached well, provides an intentional approach to that assessment. Alternatively, when a board panics and jumps into hiring too soon, too often, you end up with what ends up being an accidental interim.
The new leader comes on. There has not been enough space between them and the previous leader. They want to change things and the system is just not ready for that. It rejects the changes and often this gets personalized and the new leader is also rejected and shown the door relatively soon after they've arrived.
Often the next person who is hired will recommend instituting very similar things, but this time the organization has evolved and may be more ready for change. Intentionally hiring an interim who is skilled at managing transitions can help the organization navigate this tricky time a little less painfully.
My conversation with Erin offers nonprofit leaders a perspective on turning these moments of uncertainty and possible panic. Into opportunities for renewal and learning. Let's jump in.
Carol (in a pre-recorded clip): Nonprofit Mission Impact is the podcast for nonprofit leaders who want to build a better world without becoming a martyr to the cause. I'm Carol Hamilton, your podcast host and nonprofit equity center strategic planning and evaluation design consultant. On this podcast, we explore how to turn down the static and help you stop working at cross purposes. How to make your organization more effective by increasing a strategic alignment within the organization and all of this for the purpose of creating greater mission impact.
Carol (in a different clip): Are you leading a nonprofit right now and feeling like every week brings a new wave you just didn't expect? You're not alone. So many leaders tell me they're tired of being in constant reaction mode. Just trying to get through the next board meeting, the next deadline, the next crisis. If that's you, I wanna share something that can help. I've created a scenario planning service designed specifically for nonprofit teams, navigating uncertainty scenario planning helps you imagine multiple possible futures. Not to predict the perfect one, but to prepare with confidence for all of them. Together we explore what's within your control, where to focus your energy, and what decisions will help you stay true to your mission. Even when the world feels unpredictable, you walk away with clarity, alignment, and a grounded plan you can actually use. If you're ready to stop reacting and start steering your organization with intention, learn more about my scenario planning packages. At Grace Social sector.com, all one word, gracesocialsector.com/scenario-planning. Let's help you study the ship so you can keep moving your mission forward. At Grace Social Sector Consulting, we help mission-driven organizations like yours create clarity, alignment, and momentum so that you can focus your energy on what truly matters. Learn more at gracesocialsector.com/scenario-planning. That's gracesocialsector.com/scenario-planning.
Carol: Welcome Erin. Welcome to Nonprofit Mission Impact.
Erin Stratford-Owen: Thanks for having me here.
Carol: So I'd like to start out each conversation with what drew you to the work that you do. What motivates you or what would you say is your why?
Erin: Yeah. Finding my purpose. You can find your purpose in any job, but for me I've lived in New York during nine 11 and after being in the city during that time, I really was trying to find like, what is the, what's the real thing?
Erin: What is, what is my thing? And as many. Young people jump off cliffs to find that thing that really gets you and that you get. And I went back to volunteerism and then I realized, oh, volunteerism is my safe space. 'cause I have a servant heart and I love to, to be with people who are on the same path, to do good things and then realize, oh wait a minute, you could.
Erin: Kinda get paid for this. And so I went back to school and ended up making it my career. I went back to my hometown a handful of years ago and really started my journey as an executive leader in the nonprofit space. There. So it's really excellent. It's my deal. It's my thing, and it speaks to me.
Erin: And just really kind of balancing out the, the, the bad stuff in the world, the injustices and trying to do what I can to make the world a little bit better piece by piece.
Carol: Yeah, I can definitely relate to that, that kind of. Let me be part of the solution. Not the problem.
Erin: Yeah.
Erin: I mean, we're not, we're not unique in the nonprofit space. Right?
Carol: Exactly. Exactly. So you, you've shifted into doing interim work, and I wonder if we could just start with some definitions. So when an organization brings in an interim, how is that different than. S someone coming in or, or being elevated internally as an acting person.
Erin: You can bring in an interim at any point in the organization's path forward. Usually I come in when there has been either a long time. Director, CEO in the space. Either a positive exit or a negative exit, and there just needs to be a reset.
Erin: Okay? We've had this person in this seat for 20 years. They've been incredibly influential. I can't imagine who would be the person to fill their shoes. And also there's a little bit of, you know, ownership. When somebody's in a role like that for such a long period of time, you don't really, you kind of hand over the reins.
Erin: Even the most highly functioning board will go, you know, I trust them. They've been doing this forever. And then it's really valuable to have someone who has kind of an arm's length. A perspective, a neutral party, and an interim to come in and say, okay a, we can be sad or happy that this person is gone.
Erin: And, and work through all of those emotions with the stakeholders, the staff, the board, everybody who knew that person. And also sit with that. I appreciate it. And then value the opportunity to look towards the future. It also gives an opportunity for somebody such as myself to come in and look at the systems, look at the culture, look at the communications externally, internally to go, okay I'm new here.
Erin: This is what I see. These are some opportunities for some improvement or to lean into something that we have done a little bit of or pull back on something. A lot of times I will say I come in, in situations that are not positive where someone either has not been there for very long.
Erin: Or has been there for a long time and they've moved on. And the board wants to know, okay, so what, what's really going on? How can we do better? And it's a time of contemplation, meditation, and regrouping. And it also. Give the board time to really think about who we want next? Is it different from who we thought we wanted before?
Erin: What are our new priorities with this organization? You know, hiring takes a long time, or it should, it should take a long time. You know, hire slow, fire fast. So it gives the board an opportunity to, to really think about their next leader and do the work that it takes to get that person in place.
Carol: What would you say are some of the misconceptions that nonprofit leaders have about bringing in an or board members? How about bringing in an interim?
Erin: The number one thing is that the interim is gonna do exactly what the last. A person did that. You're just kind of a seat filler. You know, we need somebody to pick up the mail and make sure the cat's fed.
Erin: No I mean, the cat will get fed, male will get picked up, but it's an incredible opportunity because you don't really get those opportunities often to pause and reflect on how we can do better. So it's, it's a little bit of, there's definitely an analysis. That an interim can offer. That's what I offer my clients is the initial discovery period.
Erin: You come in, you make sure bills are paid, money's in the bank. Donors are communicated with, et cetera, et cetera. The staff is okay. Everybody's taking deep breaths. And then you go into looking at the systems, looking at how we're communicating with each other and with our stakeholders. So it's more than that.
Erin: And it, and it is, that is the opportunity that you don't get. Often, or sometimes, you know, if you have somebody who's been with the organization for a really, really long time, you might not ever get that opportunity unless you really take it. And it doesn't have to be a negative thing to have an interim.
Erin: It actually should be a part of your succession plan that you know when this person leaves because everyone does at some point. Yeah, this is what we'll do. We'll take a breather, we'll analyze, we'll figure this out, and really be very strategic in how we move to the next phase of this organization's life.
Carol: I feel like one of the misconceptions is that it's actually a negative thing. That, that is, that it means something negative about the organization, that they're not ready to just move on to the next question.
Erin: That's because when someone leaves suddenly, a leader of an organization leaves suddenly the board freaks out, understandably.
Erin: I get it. And you just need somebody. And but. I encourage folks to really take the time as a part of their strategic planning process, which they should be doing anyway, is to include a succession plan as a part of that. So this is just what we do. It's mixed in. It's a part of making the cake that we bring in an interim if any of our executive leadership team leaves, whether it's suddenly or a planned exit over a number of months.
Erin: This is how we do this. And it also, when you do that, it allows the organization to communicate with stakeholders, donors, et cetera, so that they know that we planned this all along. This is best practice and it's a healthy way of doing business.
Erin: Yeah, I think just slowing everything down because you can't, no group can make good decisions when they're in that panic state, individual group, group.
Erin: It's even worse probably. What are some other mistakes that you say see organizations making when they're trying to bring in an interim?
Erin: I think putting two ha having an interim there for too long. I'm not trying to talk myself out of work. Hmm. But having an interim there for too long and too long might be over a year, it might be 18 months.
Erin: That's a long time. And an interim really is there too, mm-hmm. Look at the now. Respect the past, look towards the future, but not plan for the future. That's the new person's job. The person who is really deeply invested in the organization for the long term. Those relationships should be theirs.
Erin: It shouldn't be the interim. So you're kinda half in, half out if you are there for too long because you're, the scope of work really changes. If you're there for, and I would say a year is reasonable. But after that it gets a little like oh, we built a relationship with this interim and we really love her.
Erin: Can't you hire her? Well, that's not what they're there for. So that is a big mistake. You get to, you know, hiring is a bummer. Nobody likes to do it. Especially at the executive level. So people put it off, totally get it, but you know, you have to make sure that your interim is there and you're using that interim at their highest level and giving the organization what it needs by having an interim and a space when you really need that permanent person.
Carol: I think if the interim or the board thinks that the interim could turn into the new, new executive director, it kind of shapes or diminishes the capacity for the interim to tell the group hard things.
Erin: A hundred percent.
Erin: Although I will say that I would give. As part of the onboarding process, because I usually overlap with the new person by a month or so.
Erin: Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. But I encourage the incoming executive director or CEO to tell the board hard truths. Sure to be that person. But yes. A hundred percent. You, you kind of miss it. Then, the relationship changes. You know, when you're a different guy, instead of being the person who's coming in to do a certain amount of work for, for a defined it, it just, the relationship changes.
Erin: And not to say that it can't happen and that it shouldn't happen, that an interim becomes the permanent person. You have to be intentional about that and have those conversations and say, do you want this and do you want me? And, you know, how's that gonna look?
Carol: It's a little bit different. Yeah. One of the things you talked about was like planning for the future. But how do you tell kind of what, what does the interim need to deal with and what do they need to leave for the person who's gonna be coming in more permanently?
Erin: A lot of that is case by case, but really high level those deep relationships with ongoing donors. You say you have a foundation that supported this organization for many years or just a couple of years that relate. You know, it's really the job of the interim to say, this is not my relationship with you, it is your relationship talking about the foundation program officers, your relationship to the organization.
Erin: So it is an opportunity. To talk about the mission and say, we know you give because you care about what we care about. And so it becomes less about relationships, but having the opportunity as an interim to talk up the things that we are doing behind the scenes to these donors that is of value to say, look, we've been through a tough time.
Erin: I am here, we're doing this work and I'm doing this work in partnership with the board and the staff to do better. And we've got this, we've got some amazing candidates for the next executive director or CEO and I'm really excited to introduce you to them. So allowing the next person to.
Erin: Forged those, those deeper long-term relationships and kind of set the stage for that.
Carol: You talked a lot about the board, maybe panicking when somebody's leaving. What is the relationship or the role of the board in, in working with an interim? And is it any different than any executive director?
Erin: It is what it should be, I believe. Meaning it should be a close, honest relationship where the board is asked to step up and to make decisions and to reach out to donors and to, because I'm not gonna do that. They are, that's what they're there for, to forge those relationships and, and, and continue the relation of stakeholders.
Erin: I, I think that it, it really, it's an opportunity to train a board as an interim. It's an opportunity for me to train the board to you know, this is how we're gonna do business. Either you're gonna stay outta operations when you were in operations before, or you're going to. Engage more as a governing board where you weren't before, you were kind of a sit back and see what happens.
Erin: Kind of a board. So it's an opportunity for me to say, this is how we do things. Don't you feel better? You feel more informed, you feel more engaged, you know what's going on. I'm asking for your advice and for your expertise and for your engagement. And this is how you're gonna. Do things when I leave and I enter the next executive director or CEO.
Erin: So it shouldn't be different, but a lot of times if somebody leaves and it's not a great situation. It is, a lot of it, it's not because the board was perfect. And it doesn't have to be a complete disaster, but, you know, something was missing. If, if you know, the, the. The CEO or executive director was not as successful as they expected them to be.
Carol: And how about on the staff side? I can imagine that staff might be a little nervous with somebody just being there for a little while and kind of doing that assessment. That assessment. How do you see that relationship with the staff? Relationship with the staff?
Erin: That takes a lot of work on my part to build trust instantly.
Erin: But to be very transparent and say, this is what I'm here for, and, and to really explain everything that I just explained to you. Why am I here? I'm not here to fire people. I'm not here to ruin your lives. I'm not here to. To implement a ton of change that you're gonna hate, you know, change might happen, but we're gonna do everything that we can to be as transparent as possible about the process.
Erin: And I think that most of the time folks are relieved if it was a negative exit for the previous leadership. People are relieved to have a little bit of okay. Let's just, you know take a breath and, and do our thing and things are okay right now. And knowing that an interim has a strong connection to the board and to the staff, and I'm very.
Erin: Straightforward with them when I first meet them, that I will tell them everything that I can tell them as we go through the process. And I, and I follow up on that regular communications one on one and as a group sometimes they weren't getting that with their prior leadership.
Carol: Now there may be situations where you find that. Especially if a leader hadn't been as successful, that there are some personnel issues that kind of have been swept under the rug or not dealt with. You've told people you're not gonna fire them. You're not gonna fire them. Can you guarantee that?
Erin: No. And. I do wanna take back. I don't tell people I'm not gonna fire them. I, I do say, because unfortunately, changes sometimes have to happen, especially if an organization is in financial trouble or practices where not the best. What I do say, and, and what I meant by that is that I try to. Make people calm.
Erin: You know, this is not a, I'm not here to ruin your lives and come in and you know, whatever you've seen in movies and on tv. That's not what I'm here for. I'm here to help the organization do the work that it is.
Carol: One thing you talked about at the beginning was coming in after someone who's been there for a very long time. What are some of the unique things you have to deal with when you're in that situation?
Erin: Ingrained practices. People think that, well, this is the way we've always done it.
Erin: I couldn't even imagine how we would do it otherwise. I, I don't even know what that looks like to change how I've done this for 10 years. Also culture when someone, the organization, organizational culture becomes a reflection of that. That leader and that leadership style, and it kind of filters down so that your, your second in command and your other directors and supervisors adopt that kind of a leadership as well.
Erin: So you know, it's just, it seems though I've seen a lot of bandaids instead of actually fixing things, I've seen a lot of bands. Well, it's just, we'll either deal with that later or we don't know how to fix it. So we're just gonna,
Carol: And you talked about looking at systems. Can you talk a little bit in more detail about what you're talking about? What do you mean by that?
Erin: Well, everything from, we don't have a we don't have an employee handbook at all. Or we don't have one that really means anything that says anything that gives us any direction on how we're supposed to be at work.
Erin: A lot of HR stuff. You know, we don't spend money on HR in small to medium sized nonprofits. Even some large nonprofits don't spend money on her. So again, we're just sort of figuring it out as we go along and putting those systems in place. That will allow us to keep the records that we need to keep and make sure people are compensated fairly and, and make it easy.
Erin: So also how your programs run. How they run. Are they efficient financially? Are we wasting money? Are we spending money? According to what the grant says. So connecting the dots between income and expenses to see, okay, how can we do better here? And also just record keeping. You know, I am number one top of the pile hater of record keeping, but you have to.
Erin: You know, I hate doing that detailed stuff, but you, you've got to and it will also save you in the long run when you have, especially if you have government grants or any grants and they go, well, how, how'd it go at the end of your grant term? And you go, well, I didn't write any of that down, so I don't know.
Erin: You know, you've got to really, notate your impact through these, these details. So it's a lot of kind of connecting the dots, making sure that we are both efficient and that we are documenting our impact in all of the ways that we can do that.
Carol: Few people probably go into the sector to, , to do all that note taking.
Carol: But it is important.
Erin: It's a bummer. But you gotta,
Erin: I mean, but I will say that I wanna know if my work is impactful. Sure. And the only way to. Sure.
Carol: So what would you say really helps an interim and, and an organization having an interim make that success, make that successful.
Erin: Engagement with the board, having a hundred percent buy-in from the board, having them be available to the interim and open to any recommendations that the interim might present to them.
Erin: It's difficult to have a successful interim term when the board doesn't wanna change, really needs to be changed and, and change or, or modifications or investment. We really need to spend money on a new payroll system because we're writing down our times on a piece of paper. You know, that kind of thing can really.
Erin: Make an interim engagement. Feel a little in the chair. Why am I even here? If you're not gonna even entertain some things that I know will make the organization more effective, and the people who work there happier. And the folks who are your stakeholders
Carol: so, to close out, what's one question that you wish nonprofit leaders board members would ask themselves? When thinking strategically about managing those leadership, leadership transitions?
Erin: Everybody's so sick of the word sustainability. And I'm, I'm here tired of hearing it, tired of saying it. But we know what that means. I would love to see. Less of a focus on urgency and more of a focus on sustainability. That's really hard to say when you know, in the current climate when we feel like the world's burning down and oh my gosh, we gotta get this stuff done yesterday.
Erin: But it will get done and we need to do it the right way and we can be strategic and without being frantic. So the shiny object syndrome where you go, okay, there's money here, we can start this program, so let's go after the dollars. It really, you gotta filter it through your strategy, through your strategic plan, but also just, can we handle this?
Erin: It's a part of our strategic plan, but can't, how is it gonna affect us? Operations, our morale, our culture, how we serve people that we're currently serving, serving right now. How, how is it gonna affect that? So I would say I wanna give folks permission to focus on the work of the future, the work that you're doing now, and the work that you will do in the future versus this frantic urgency.
Erin: And I, and, and I'm really clear, I wanna be clear about frantic urgency because you can be urgent and understand that the problems that we are facing need to be dealt with immediately. But being smart about how we deal with them can help us to, you know, can speak to the longevity of the organization
Erin: years to come.
Carol: Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. Well, thank you so much.
Erin: Yeah, thank you. This has been great. Thank you for
Carol: listening to this episode. I really appreciate the time you spend with me and my guests. You can find out how to connect with my guests, their full bio, the full transcript of our conversation.
Carol: As well as any links and resources mentioned during the show in the show notes@gracesocialsector.com slash mission impact. I'd like to thank Isabelle Strauss Riggs for her support in editing and production, as well as charade Carbonell of a hundred ninjas for her production support. And if you enjoy this episode, please share it on your favorite social media platform and tag us.
Carol: We really appreciate you helping us get the word out. And until next time, thank you for everything you do to contribute and make an impact.
LISTEN + SUBSCRIBE
APPLE PODCASTS ● SPOTIFY