Chance Events and Executive Career Rebranding: Implications For Career Coaches and Nonprofit HRM

• Date: 01 July 2017
• Author: Janice Forsyth,Deborah M. McPhee,Francine Schlosser
• Published date: 01 July 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21789

Human Resource Management, July–August 2017, Vol. 56, No. 4. Pp. 571–591

© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI:10.1002/hrm.21789

Correspondence to: Francine Schlosser, Golden Jubilee Professor in Business, Odette School of Business, University

of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Phone: 519 253 30 00 x: 3107, E-mail: fschloss@uwindsor.ca.

in NPOs, his sample (n = 188) also showed that a

large number of nonprofit executives (18 percent)

were hired from outside the nonprofit sector.

Given the anticipated number of executives

expected to transition into NPOs, the issue of suc-

cessful integration is compelling. Consequently,

personal career coaches may be called upon to

help executives explore and exploit opportu-

nities presented by unplanned events (Pryor

& Bright, 2014; Mitchell, Levin, & Krumboltz,

1999). Executives may also seek or welcome

aid from human resource (HR) practitioners in

NPOs. However, there is limited research on the

Executive leaders of for-profit and nonprofit

organizations (NPOs) form an important

part of the senior management circle,

ultimately responsible for strategic and

operational decisions and whose perfor-

mance drives firm success. Casner-Lotto (2007)

noted that starting in 2016, NPOs will seek

almost 80,000 new executives per year (up from

56,000 in 2006), especially skilled executives in

operations, finance, human resources, market-

ing, development, and communications. Suarez

(2010) found that although dedication to the

nonprofit sector shaped a leadership career path

CHANCE EVENTS AND EXECUTIVE

CAREER REBRANDING:

IMPLICATIONS FOR CAREER

COACHES AND NONPROFIT HRM

FRANCINE SCHLOSSER, DEBORAH M. MCPHEE,

ANDJANICE FORSYTH

We conducted and analyzed interviews with 20 executives from the for-profi t sec-

tor who had transitioned into second careers in the nonprofi t sector. Our qualita-

tive study provides an in-depth analysis of the critical events that triggered career

agency and stimulated the change process. At each stage of transition, the execu-

tives revisited their personal brands, deciding how to best position their skills,

knowledge, and values within the context of their new nonprofi t organizations.

This research contributes to academic and practitioner knowledge of new career

paths open to mid- and late-career executives and insights for nonprofi t leader-

ship, as many nonprofi ts can anticipate major shortages of qualifi ed executives.

Each stage in the career transition process provides opportunities for human

resource professionals to contribute to successful nonprofi t leadership change:

fi rst, by creating opportunities for “chance events” motivating transition, fol-

lowed by career coaching opportunities before and throughout the transition.

©2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: careers, chance events, leadership, nonprofi t, personal branding

572 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, JULY–AUGUST 2017

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

As executives

commonly engage

personal coaches,

this research will

provide coaches with

valuable insights

as they strive to

help executives

rebrand their careers

fostering positive

career agency

and successful

career transition.

Our research

will complement

prior research by

describing what may

shape individual

reactions to

unexpected events

and their motivation

to transition to a new

career.

valuable insights as they strive to help execu-

tives rebrand their careers fostering positive

career agency and successful career transition.

Our research will complement prior research by

describing what may shape individual reactions

to unexpected events and their motivation to

transition to a new career. Career interventions,

and related research and theory, are core elements

of counseling psychology (Holland, Magoon, &

Spokane, 1981).

In the following literature review, we will

identify gaps in knowledge and position our study

in the field of career research, with a focus on

developing identity and managing career change

through the use of narratives. Consequently, we

begin by discussing prior literature on career tran-

sition and describe how career agency in the face

of unplanned events helps to navigate such tran-

sitions. Then we describe how individuals learn

and adapt their identities as they exercise career

agency. Finally, we consider how they interpret,

disseminate, embrace, and project these changes

in identity through narratives and rebranding.

Literature Review

Career Transitioning

Sullivan and Baruch (2009, p. 1543) have defined

a career as “an individual’s work-related and other

relevant experiences, both inside and outside of

organizations, that form a unique pattern over the

individual’s life span.” This definition recognizes

both physical movements, such as between lev-

els, jobs, employers, occupations, and industries,

as well as the interpretation of the individual,

including his or her perceptions of career events

(e.g., viewing job loss as failure vs. as an opportu-

nity for a new beginning), career alternatives (e.g.,

viewing limited vs. unlimited options), and out-

comes (e.g., how one defines career success).

Modern career paths present opportunities

to engage in different roles, at different compa-

nies, and, indeed, in different fields. Whether

the changes are voluntary or involuntary, this

paradigm creates a need to manage variation and

transition throughout a career. Baruch and Quick

(2007) echoed Zhang and Rajagopalan (2004), in

saying that not enough is known about success-

ful transition into a leading role within different

career systems. Prior research on leadership and

careers has demonstrated that transitions are criti-

cal periods for learning and development and can

determine managerial success or failure (Benjamin

& O’Reilly, 2011). Transitions are “the process by

which individuals work through, learn and come

to terms with the new challenges and conditions

that [situational] change creates” (Benjamin &

transition from paid to unpaid work (Schlosser &

Zinni, 2011) and on the intersector career transi-

tion of executives (Baruch & Quick, 2007).

In 1999 Ibarra noted a lack of research on how

individuals negotiate and change their identities

in a new work role. More than 15 years later, there

remain unanswered questions about the charac-

teristics of this change process as experienced by

leaders who transition from a for-

profit to a nonprofit organization.

We found only one earlier quanti-

tative study conducted by Baruch

and Quick (2007) that considered

the converse, when they identified

significant transitional adjustments

for admirals experiencing a second

career change from bureaucratic

nonprofit military careers to the for-

profit sector. Other scholars have

called for more study of the evo-

lutionary processes of exploration

and exploitation (Pryor & Bright,

2014) and of the chance events that

may positively or negatively affect

the career transition process (e.g.,

Grimland, Vigoda-Gadot, & Baruch,

2012).

To address these gaps, we con-

ducted an exploratory qualitative

study involving NPO executives

who had previously transitioned

from a for-profit executive position.

Accordingly, we asked: What critical,

and potentially unanticipated events

triggered career agency and stimulated

the change process? What differences

did these individuals identify and man-

age in their roles, accountabilities,

and compensation? These research

questions are important for career

coaches and other HR professionals

to understand because the health

and motivation of incoming execu-

tive leaders is a bellwether for the

health and success of many other

organizational stakeholders.

This research contributes to

academic and practitioner knowl-

edge of new career paths open to

mid- and late-career executives and insights for

nonprofit leadership, because many nonprofits

can anticipate major shortages of qualified execu-

tives. It will help executives and HR professionals

understand and embed the private-sector strate-

gies and perspectives of incoming nonprofit lead-

ers. As executives commonly engage personal

coaches, this research will provide coaches with