When Leadership Succession Becomes Crisis Management
The $125 Million Leadership Lesson Portland Didn't Set Out to Teach
Portland's WNBA expansion team has become an unintentional case study in everything that can go wrong when leadership transitions aren't properly planned. In less than two years, the franchise has cycled through two ownership groups, fired its first president after 90 days, and watched its competitor, the Toronto Tempo, build a fully functional organization while Portland scrambles to fill basic roles.
For nonprofit leaders, this expensive mess offers critical insights about succession planning, interim leadership, and organizational resilience.
The Anatomy of a Leadership Disaster
The trouble started in October 2023, when the original ownership bid collapsed days before the planned announcement due to disagreements over the team name and conflicts of interest. The WNBA awarded the franchise to RAJ Sports in September 2024 for $125 million, but the damage to organizational momentum was already done.
When RAJ Sports hired Inky Son as president in April 2025, it seemed like a solid choice—former National Basketball Players Association chief administrative officer with deep sports industry experience. Three months later, she was gone.
The timing couldn't have been worse. The team announced surpassing 10,000 season ticket deposits the same day they announced Son's departure. Multiple general manager candidates reportedly turned down positions. While the Toronto Tempo has hired their full leadership team and 20+ staff members, Portland still lacks a coach, general manager, or even an official team name.
The Ripple Effects of Poor Succession Planning
Portland's crisis illustrates three critical failures that plague organizations during leadership transitions:
Knowledge Transfer Breakdown: When Son left, she took with her three months of institutional knowledge about community engagement, business operations, and strategic planning. The joint statement acknowledged she had "helped lay the foundation for the franchise's presence in Portland, shaping its early business operations and community engagement efforts", but those foundations weren't systematically documented or transferred.
Stakeholder Confidence Erosion: Portland's struggles may impact future WNBA expansion decisions, according to industry analysts. When leadership transitions become public crises, stakeholders—from players to sponsors to league officials—begin questioning organizational competence.
Competitive Disadvantage: While Portland dealt with internal chaos, Toronto built operational momentum. The contrast is stark: one organization preparing for sustainable success, the other in crisis management mode.
Enter Clare Hamill: Interim Leadership Done Right
Clare Hamill's appointment as Interim President represents a master class in interim leadership selection. With 43+ years at Nike, including roles as VP of Innovation Integration and creator of the Women in Nike (WIN) program, she brings the deep industry knowledge and cultural understanding necessary for organizational stabilization.
Her track record of hiring "dozens of retired women athletes into corporate leadership roles" through the WIN program demonstrates exactly the kind of talent development and succession planning Portland desperately needs.
What Clare Should Focus On (And What Your Interim Leaders Should Too)
Immediate Stabilization:
Document existing processes and institutional knowledge
Conduct stakeholder confidence-building meetings
Assess cultural health and operational gaps
Establish clear communication protocols
Strategic Continuity:
Hamill's stated focus on "staffing, culture-building, and business development for the team, with a focus on equity and innovation" addresses the core organizational needs
Maintain long-term vision while addressing immediate operational requirements
Build systems that prevent future leadership crises
Succession Planning for the Future:
Create robust knowledge transfer protocols
Establish clear organizational charts and decision-making processes
Build internal leadership development programs
Document lessons learned from this crisis
The Bigger Picture for Nonprofit Leaders
Portland's experience offers sobering lessons for nonprofit organizations:
Board Oversight Matters: When ownership transitions occur, boards must ensure proper due diligence on leadership capabilities, not just financial capacity.
Culture Eats Strategy: Multiple GM candidates reportedly turned down positions, suggesting deeper cultural or structural issues that made the organization unattractive to qualified leaders.
Interim Leadership as Strategic Tool: Done right, interim leadership isn't just crisis management—it's organizational development. Hamill's appointment demonstrates how interim leaders can bring expertise and stability during transitions.
Documentation Is Critical: Organizations that survive leadership transitions have robust systems for knowledge transfer, stakeholder management, and operational continuity.
Moving Forward: What Success Looks Like
Portland's WNBA team has a chance to model what interim leadership done right looks like. Success will be measured not just by hiring a permanent president, but by:
Building organizational systems that prevent future leadership crises
Establishing the cultural foundation necessary for long-term success
Creating sustainable talent development and succession planning processes
Restoring stakeholder confidence in the organization's competence
For nonprofit leaders watching this unfold, the lesson is clear: Your next leadership transition is coming whether you're ready or not. Portland's $125 million learning experience doesn't have to be yours.
The question isn't whether you'll face leadership transitions—it's whether you'll manage them strategically or let them manage you.
Watch the YouTube video on this story: Portland’s WNBA franchise leadership missteps
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