Diversity as Effectiveness in Foundation Hiring and Appointments
Anthony Tansimore
I came into the executive search world from the foundation world. Having been a senior level manager and hired people for many years, I wasn’t sufficiently satisfied with the level of service I was getting from the search professionals I encountered. Now having been on both sides of the process, however, I can understand the difficulties that executive search professionals face. Most executive search consultants don’t come from the world of philanthropy, haven't been in the shoes of a foundation executive and, therefore, don’t necessarily understand how philanthropic organizations work.
Since I’ve been in the executive search world, I've had foundation clients come to me and state very specifically: “I want to hire person X of a certain ethnicity or color." My response is to explain to the client that I can provide a very diverse pool of strong candidates, but that the organization needs to focus on exactly what the position for which they are hiring is really all about. In other words, if a client's primary mandate to its search consultant is “Go out and come back with a diverse pool of candidates,” they will very likely get a diverse pool of candidates in return. But this pool of candidates won't necessarily be relevant in light of the position for which the foundation is trying to hire and in light of the larger organizational goals. So the first set of questions that an executive search professional needs to ask the client is “What is this job all about, what are you trying to achieve at the foundation, what is the role we are hiring for meant to be about vis a vis the mission of the organization?" In other words, diversity in the hiring and appointment process has to be integrally connected to what the institution is trying to accomplish.
At the other end of the spectrum, I've also had clients say to me “Sure, we’d like to make a diverse hire, but we don’t want to sacrifice quality.” It’s as if these clients are thinking, “Oh my goodness, we have to hire a person of color at the expense of somebody who is ... good.” When this seems to be a concern, my response is to explain that diversity is part and parcel of the substance of finding the best person for the job. The issues that foundations are trying to solve at this time are so complex and complicated that we simply must have people of various backgrounds, perspectives and experiences at the table. Today, the people that foundations are working with and the communities they are serving are facing problems that are so complex that they simply must have people in positions of executive leadership who understand the dynamics of diverse communities. Foundations must have leadership in place that understands how to think about the challenges facing diverse communities and how to apply scarce philanthropic resources, both intellectual and financial, to address these problems.
At this conjuncture in history, foundations need to think of themselves as part of a larger ecosystem and as working with and through diverse organizations. As such, foundations need people in positions of executive leadership who understand the dynamics of diverse communities as much as they need people who know how to read balance sheets. In other words, diversity in executive leadership is not an outlier. It is integrally tied to the effective functioning of the foundation and to the health and wellbeing of the communities that philanthropy serves.
Executive search consultants can also help troubleshoot through issues that might otherwise present minefields for years to come at foundations once they have completed the hiring process. For instance, structures and processes need to be put into place to ensure that the new diverse hire is effective. There has to be plan in place for the first ninety days of the new hire’s tenure. For example, if the new executive is coming from outside of philanthropy, what do they need to learn about how the institution works with other foundations and fits within the larger field or about how the grantmaking process itself works? Also, throughout the first ninety days a hiring manager needs to be sitting down with the new hire asking “What do you need from me? What do you need from the board?" I also encourage the new hire to be clear in explicitly and consistently stating what they need from the organization. Are there ongoing activities or conversations that they need to have happen? Do they need coaching as part of the development plan? What is the range of things they need to be in place in order to get acclimated? It's a two-way street. At the end of the day, it's not just about hiring the right person; it’s about putting the right pieces in place to make sure that a new executive leader who is also a diverse appointment is ultimately successful.
We are moving away from an old charity model of philanthropy toward a new model of philanthropy of impact and relevance. In the old model, the stakes were lower because the primary purpose of philanthropic institutions was to write checks to various charities. Today, it must be underscored, philanthropy is about having impact. Especially at this moment, with the limited dollars foundations have, they have to think about how to apply not only their financial but also their intellectual resources to really make a difference. This means thinking about policy work; it means engaging in work beyond grantmaking; it means prioritizing diversity at every level of the process of strong leadership and management.
Anthony A. Tansimore is Executive Vice President of DHR International, a leading privately held provider of executive search solutions specializing in all industries. Prior to joining DHR International, Mr. Tansimore served as Senior Consultant at The 360 Group, an executive search and consulting firm serving the nonprofit sector. He has also previously served as Chief Financial Officer of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, as Chief Operating Officer of The San Francisco Foundation and held several positions at the Fannie Mae Foundation including Vice President and Acting Head of Communications.