Mergers are Misunderstood Part Two: The Not-So-Ugly Stepsisters

As you may recall from our last blog, mergers are a lot like your new stepmom: misunderstood, uncomfortable, and forcing change to the status quo. But, while their initial entry into your life may be challenging, they often aren’t as bad as you first thought, and Dad sure is a lot happier. 

Now, just when you thought you’d adjusted to all the changes you can handle, Susan introduces you to her two daughters, Alyssa and Kate. Suddenly you find yourself sharing a bedroom with Alyssa who is going through an emo phase and Kate who is too busy reading YA romance novels to even talk to you. Gaining new team members is another side effect of mergers, which brings in a whole host of new challenges you may not be interested in tackling. But handling new talent isn’t always a negative, and in fact can help your organization work more efficiently and even bring more opportunities to you and your staff. 

Leadership Acquisition

When looking for new organizational leaders, you and your team typically go about it in one of two ways: Promote an internal candidate requiring time for mentoring and development or hiring an external candidate which is often unrealistic given tight budgets and a limited talent pool. 

Mergers combine these two options, offering a fresh take on an old problem. By partnering, organizations acquire talent that is already operating at the level the organization needs, doing the work well, and possessing the capability to continue doing it post-integration.

Talent Development

Mergers are a great opportunity for you and your fellow employees to develop their own careers. Here are a couple of reasons why:

1. Cross-functional teams expose staff to new skills and perspectives

2. Career pathways that didn’t exist in smaller, flatter structures now allow for development and upward mobility

3. A larger budget allows for access to better professional tools, programs, and other resources that support growth and retention

Succession Planning

We often forget how much a key leader may carry for an organization. Things like institutional memory, industry relationships, and organizational identity are all valuable insights that, once a resignation is submitted, risk being lost to the sands of time. While there may be a #2 waiting in the wings, they may not yet be seasoned enough to take the reins of the outgoing leader. Perhaps that person has also left. And what if there’s no bench at all? 

By integrating with a partner organization, nonprofits gain ready-made succession pathways. During the merger process, knowledge can be shared, leadership capacity deepens, and redundancies are built with intention. Now, instead of a single torch bearer, a family of leaders can blaze the trail into the future.

The Real Reward of Mergers

The reality is, mergers are hard because they require compromise. But the beauty of this change is that it allows for new perspectives, giving you the chance to look at things from new angles. It might even make your job better, like maybe you discover Alyssa just got her driver’s license so your loser Dad doesn’t have to drive you to soccer practice. Or maybe Kate is a whiz at SAT prep and can quiz you on your vocab. When done well, those “not so ugly stepsisters” might just become the partners who help you thrive long after your families merge.