Executive Transitions is volume three in the Museum Trustee Association’s Templates for Trustees series. The book and customizable web-based templates feature tools that help boards to consider their options, identify their priorities, and plan their actions at this critical moment in a museum’s life cycle. In addition to the manual and on-line website, purchasers have access to the ongoing assistance of MTA staff.

Executive Transitions encourages board and staff members to see leadership transitions as opportunities for strategic growth. Whether a director’s departure stems from a carefully crafted succession plan or is a completely unanticipated event, the text and accompanying templates will be useful to museums of all types and sizes. They guide the search committee through each step of the executive search process: announcing the previous director’s departure and considering interim leadership options, conducting an institutional audit that will serve as the basis for identifying professional skills and personal qualities needed in the new leader, writing and posting the position announcement, screening initial candidates and interviewing finalists, conducting reference and background checks, and extending an offer. And because it is the board’s responsibility to not only hire the new director but to facilitate his or her success, the final chapter focuses on the all-important transition year.