01
Readiness evidence
Ten defined dimensions covering governance, emergency continuity, leadership depth, stakeholder voice, strategy, and transition discipline.
Not sure where your board stands? Score your own readiness against the ten-dimension framework — free, nothing stored.
Run the free self-assessmentCadenza / Leadership Practice
Arts & culture / International
Board & Succession
Make leadership continuity a board instrument.
A structured, evidence-based approach to planned and unplanned transition—designed to show what is documented, what is assumed, and what the board must decide next.
Public inquiry boundary — do not send candidate, committee, relationship, or engagement records. A conversation does not create an engagement.
Evidence before assertion
Mandate profile
Built for institutions carrying consequential leadership risk.
- 01Boards without a current succession plan
- 02Institutions approaching a chief-executive transition
- 03Organizations dependent on one senior leader
- 04Boards reviewing emergency authority
- 05Institutions aligning leadership and strategy
- 06Organizations preparing for future search
The work
The designed diagnostic
The current method is a professional decision aid, not a predictive score. It distinguishes documentary evidence from adviser judgement and records limitations.
02
Risk map
A board-readable view of documented gaps, their evidence, and why they matter—without pretending to predict a transition outcome.
03
Emergency sequence
Acting authority, signatory limits, ratification, communication order, spokesperson, and immediate board decisions.
04
Twelve-month action plan
Named actions, owners, decision points, review dates, and unresolved questions tied back to the evidence reviewed.
Method / 01—04
A governed engagement, when activated
Each stage has a named owner, evidence boundary, approval point, and stopping condition. The operating control is part of the work.
- 01
Agree scope and sponsor
Record purpose, board sponsor, accountable Cadenza delivery owner, access list, retention plan, claims boundary, and the exact decision the work supports.
- 02
Review evidence privately
Use an approved MFA-protected workspace for interviews, contracts, board material, and any other confidential record.
- 03
Test findings
Separate fact, missing evidence, adviser judgement, and client response; record the version reviewed and by whom.
- 04
Close deliberately
Deliver the approved version, record acceptance, retain or delete on schedule, and capture what should remain human.
Transparent fee guide
Know the commercial frame before the conversation.
These are future planning ranges in US dollars, not active offers or guaranteed quotes. Cadenza will confirm one signed scope, professional fee, milestone schedule, expense cap, taxes, and third-party costs before work begins.
Executive Search
Formation practiceFixed professional fee; CEO, major-institution, international, and artistic searches are generally higher.
From $60,000
Future planning range / USD
Board & Succession
Formation practiceAnnual engagement planning range; a narrower diagnostic or emergency plan would be scoped separately.
$30,000–$100,000+
Future planning range / USD
Interim Leadership
Formation practiceInterim search and transition fee; interim executive compensation is separate.
$35,000–$75,000
Future planning range / USD
Strategy & Governance
Planned practiceFixed project range shaped by institutional scale, participation, evidence, and implementation scope.
$50,000–$175,000+
Future planning range / USD
Revenue & Advancement
Planned practiceFixed project range shaped by data readiness, revenue lanes, campaign scope, and implementation support.
$40,000–$150,000+
Future planning range / USD
Donor Intelligence
Planned practicePackage or custom scope; record volume, licensed-provider costs, human review, and advisory depth drive the range.
$10,000–$100,000+
Future planning range / USD
Facilities & Program Planning
Planned practiceFixed project range; architects, engineers, acousticians, cost consultants, and other specialists contract separately.
$100,000–$350,000+
Future planning range / USD
Culture & Community
Planned practiceFixed project range shaped by stakeholder groups, listening safeguards, accessibility review, facilitation, evidence volume, and implementation support.
$40,000–$150,000+
Future planning range / USD
Leadership Institute
Future institutePrivate institutional programme planning range; future cohort pricing requires a separate owner-approved model.
$40,000–$125,000+
Future planning range / USD
C01
Professional fee
Fixed in the signed scope. Executive-search fees are not calculated as a percentage of compensation.
C02
Milestones
The contract states invoice amounts and dates. Search planning assumes 40% / 30% / 30%, subject to the signed schedule.
C03
Approved expenses
Travel, advertising, checks, assessments, translation, legal review, specialists, and events are separate only when pre-approved.
C04
No hidden markup
Taxes and third-party costs are identified. Any administrative markup must be disclosed in the contract before commitment.
Operating standard
Non-negotiable boundaries.
Product constraints and operating rules—not trust language added after the fact.
- G01No confidential candidate, committee, relationship, conflict, or engagement records belong in the public Cadenza application.
- G02No model may rank, recommend, reject, contact, or publish a person on Cadenza’s behalf.
- G03Advisory work remains independent from software sales, marketplace ranking, advertising, and editorial coverage.
- G04Public-source signals stay UNVERIFIED until a named human reviews the cited evidence.
- G05The Succession Readiness Diagnostic is advisory and evidence-based; it is not a validated predictive instrument.
Leadership pathway
The complete practice.
010203040506070809
Executive Search
Governed retained search from institutional readiness through appointment and onboarding.
From $60,000
Formation practice
Board & Succession
Leadership continuity, emergency authority, board readiness, and transition discipline.
$30,000–$100,000+
Formation practice
Interim Leadership
A controlled continuity path when leadership changes faster than the permanent mandate.
$35,000–$75,000
Formation practice
Strategy & Governance
Strategic choices, governance design, institutional alignment, and implementation control.
$50,000–$175,000+
Planned practice
Revenue & Advancement
Contributed and earned revenue, audience development, and advancement operating discipline.
$40,000–$150,000+
Planned practice
Donor Intelligence
Licensed research, match review, relationship paths, and evidence-led prospect planning.
$10,000–$100,000+
Planned practice
Facilities & Program Planning
Institutional, programmatic, market, operating, and financial planning before design.
$100,000–$350,000+
Planned practice
Culture & Community
Organizational climate, accessibility, inclusive practice, and accountable engagement.
$40,000–$150,000+
Planned practice
Leadership Institute
A future learning platform for arts executives, board chairs, and transition leaders.
$40,000–$125,000+
Future institute
Begin carefully
Start with the decision you need to make.
Cadenza can discuss future scope and pilot interest. Do not send confidential records, candidate information, committee material, or an active mandate through the public form.