Leadership succession planning should be a core objective for every Jewish Men’s Club and Brotherhood. The goal of leadership succession planning is to identify and nurture a pool of leadership talent to grow and steer your organization into the future. After all, nobody wants to be Club President for life and an organization without a succession plan is ultimately destined for dormancy.
A key element to your Men’s Club and Brotherhood succession plan is your Nominating Committee. The primary task of a nominating committee is to identify key roles for succession or replacement of current officers and trustees, and establishment of competencies and motivational profiles for each role. Over the years, each successive nominating committee should be working to identify pools of talent that can potentially fill and perform effectively in the required officer or trustee roles.
In many Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods, it is common than the immediate past president serves as Nominating Committee Chair for the next election cycle; they are instrumental in helping to select, coach, guide, mentor and evaluate new and continuing board members. Depending on your Club’s Constitution and/or By-Laws, your Nominating Committee will consist of a fixed number of officers, trustees, past presidents, and/or club members at large who do not currently hold a board position.
Your nominating committee needs to meet at least two months prior to the date that a vote will take place (please consult your constitution/by-laws – this should be in there). The slate of potential candidates is then presented to your Men’s Club or Brotherhood board, usually at the meeting prior to the election. If your guiding documents allow for nominations by petition in addition to nominating committee selections, then those names should be submitted to the Nominating Committee Chair by the process and in the timeframe designated by those documents. Once the Nominating Committee has presented the slate, its job is complete until next time.
The nominating committee serves a critical function in your organization; do not overlook it or take it lightly. Now is the time to begin the work necessary to ensure that your Men’s Club or Brotherhood will be here for decades to come; B’hatzlacha!
The Florida Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs has Regional Consultants available to assist your Men’s Club or Brotherhood through the leadership succession planning process. We serve the needs of Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods across the State of Florida from the Panhandle to Miami. Get to know more about the FJMC Florida Region and our growing statewide network of dynamic Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods at www.floridaregionfjmc.org and please visit our Florida Region FJMC Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/FloridaRegionFJMC.
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