Our Approach
We work with organizations to understand what they need and what their vision for the future is - and then find it.
Ford Webb Associates has been providing executive search and leadership consulting services to mission-driven organizations since 1995. In three decades, our fundamental approach has not changed: we treat every engagement as a strategic partnership, not a transaction.
Our services are integrated by design. Each element — organizational analysis, search, assessment, counsel — informs and enhances the others. The result is not just a successful hire, but an organization better positioned for the leadership transition it just went through and what will follow.
Core Methodology
Our executive search practice is the core of what Ford Webb Associates does — and it is fundamentally different from transactional recruitment. We conduct rigorous, confidential searches for CEOs, Executive Directors, Presidents, and other senior leaders across nonprofit, government, and social-sector organizations nationwide.
Every search begins with organizational assessment and ends with a curated, deeply vetted finalist slate. We are present at every stage, providing counsel not just on candidates but on the search process itself — helping clients ask the right questions, make well-informed decisions, and avoid the common pitfalls that derail even well-intentioned searches.
A leadership search conducted without a clear organizational diagnosis is a search designed for the organization's past, not its future. Our organizational analysis service provides the strategic foundation every successful search requires.
We conduct structured interviews with board members, senior staff, key stakeholders, and — where appropriate — clients and community members. We review strategic plans, financials, and governance documents. We assess organizational culture, identify the tensions and opportunities a new leader will inherit, and develop a clear-eyed picture of the leadership profile the organization actually needs.
Leadership transitions surface complexity that goes well beyond candidate selection. Boards navigate competing priorities and divergent views. Outgoing leaders manage the emotional and practical dimensions of departure. Internal candidates process the uncertainty of open competition. New leaders prepare to step into organizations that are watching their every move.
Ford Webb Associates provides strategic counsel throughout this complexity — to boards, search committees, outgoing leaders, and incoming executives. Our role as a trusted advisor, operating with complete discretion and deep institutional knowledge, is one of the most valuable and least visible things we do.
All Ford Webb Associates engagements are conducted on a retained basis. This is not simply a billing preference — it is a reflection of how we work and the quality of partnership we provide. Retained search means we are fully committed to the engagement from day one, with no competing incentives to move quickly at the expense of moving well.
Our retained model includes full organizational assessment, position design, national outreach and candidate development, candidate evaluation and assessment, finalist presentation, offer and negotiation support, and transition counseling through the new leader's first months. We are partners from start to finish.
The Process
Sector Intelligence & Market Knowledge
We know the nonprofit, government, and social-sector leadership markets with a depth that comes from decades of active practice. We know who the strongest leaders are, where they are, what motivates them, and what it takes to engage their serious interest.
This market intelligence is living knowledge, continuously updated through relationships cultivated over 30 years of national practice — across advocacy organizations, universities, health systems, and public-sector agencies at every level of government.
Organizational Diagnosis & Strategic Assessment
Before we search for a leader, we develop a clear picture of where the organization truly is — its culture, its fracture lines, its unrealized potential, and the specific leadership qualities its next chapter demands.
This organizational analysis is not a formality. It is the foundation of everything that follows. Organizations that skip this step hire for where they were. We help clients hire for where they need to go.
Candidate Assessment & Leadership Evaluation
Identifying candidates is the beginning, not the end. Our assessment process is rigorous, probing, and deeply informed by the specific organizational context. We evaluate not just competence and track record, but values alignment, leadership style, and the harder-to-measure qualities — judgment, resilience, the capacity to earn trust.
Board & Search Committee Counsel
The search process is as much about the client organization as it is about the candidates. Boards and search committees come to the table with their own dynamics, divergent views, and institutional challenges.
Ted Ford Webb is known for his capacity to hold the trust of all parties simultaneously: the board, the outgoing leader, internal candidates, and the most discerning external prospects.
Transition Management & Onboarding Support
Our work does not end with an accepted offer. The transition period — from offer acceptance through the leader's first six months — is one of the highest-risk intervals in the life of an organization.
We provide counsel to both the incoming leader and the board to ensure that the foundations for success are firmly in place, including guidance on early relationship-building, communication strategy, and stakeholder engagement.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusive Search Practice
The strongest candidate pools are diverse ones. We are committed to searches that reach broadly and equitably — actively cultivating candidates from communities that are historically underrepresented in senior leadership.
This is not a compliance exercise. It is an expression of our conviction that organizations become more effective when their leadership reflects the full range of talent available.
Ready to Begin?
Every search is different. Tell us about your organization and the transition you're navigating — we'll tell you how we can help.