Navigating New Leaders
In February 2026, we had the privilege of presenting a session at the CASE District 1 & 2 Conference about our work with Penn Libraries. A few things came up during the session around new leadership that we wanted to share more widely:
If you haven’t been through a leadership transition in the last two years, it’s probably coming.
We surveyed the 50 or so attendees in the room to see how many had had a leadership change in their department, unit, or institution. Well over half the hands went up, indicating that leadership change is the norm rather than the exception these days. While this audience was entirely from higher ed and independent schools, the nonprofit sector at large is very much in flux as well.
When you’re acclimating to a new leader, know that your first big development communication will have some bumps in the road. But you can plan for them.
Put yourself in the shoes of the new leader for a moment. Whether they are at the very top of the org chart or a little further down, they are excited about their new job. They may also be a little overwhelmed. They are drinking from the fire hose, and tweaking the brand identity is probably not their first priority.
So when it comes time to produce a high-level fundraising piece, they may not realize they aren’t in love with the voice, tone, or look that has been in use until they actually see their own name on it. At that point, you may have to undo much of the work or hit pause while you figure out how to move forward.
To save time and headaches, we recommend that you proactively take the following two steps at the start of the process, rather than wait until the end:
Interview the new leader to get a sense of their own voice and tone. Ask them to reflect on how those do or don’t align with existing communications.
Show them several recent print and digital communications. What do they like or not like about the designs? If this person has the authority to do so, they may want to make changes to brand guidelines, not just graphic elements or design directions.
Know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em.
Your new boss, or your boss’s boss, might just not get it. Not everyone understands or supports fundraising as much as we’d like them to. This can be disappointing at best, counterproductive, or downright maddening at worst.
If you’re working with someone who doesn’t understand the value of internal alignment around philanthropic language, it may be worth pointing out the extra time and inefficiencies that are required when suddenly everyone has to pivot. It’s also worth having a better approach ready to share with them.
But if you’ve been banging your head against the wall for more than a year, trying to get a new leader to get with the program, it might be time for your own change. We give you permission. Not every situation is salvageable.