Start spreading the news

Once I described my plan to step down to my Board Chair it was time to announce it to the world. Well, there's a sequence to this that was important - at least to me. I wanted to make sure that my closest colleagues knew first, and knew firsthand from me, about my plans. So Greenlights Board Chair and I visited first with our Founding Chair to make a plan. I committed to telling staff, then Board, and then key donors and stakeholders within the week, inviting comments, and requesting that we embargo the news until I finished my round of calls. My goal? Two days and then the word's out.

Well, easier said then done. I dutifully made my list and started on my calls from A-Z. First calls were easy - when I reached a person. Office-dwellers are less tied to office phones than a few years ago. And the idea of explaining my step down to a person on a cell phone in the midst of interstate traffic made me squirm, so I shied away from dialing those carefully guarded numbers.

And what about voice mail? Well for some people I spoke my message before the beep. For others it felt somewhat abrupt and I just asked for a callback.

Unfortunately my system of marking who I called, what I said, and who I reached was woefully inconsistent, so by the end of the second day of calls - in between other tasks - I was hopelessly confused about who I had contacted and who was left to connect to.

So ultimately I fell back on our current favorite mode of communication - a blast email to the near and dear.

Not a 2-day task, but a week-long task. Finally, tomorrow I will send out the note, and let Greenlights staff know they are free to tell friends about the transitions ahead. Can't imagine it's important news, but it's always easier to avoid secrets.