Asked to MC retiring boss's party after being passed over for her role

I'd do it. I'd see it as an opportunity to demonstrate they made a mistake.

I'd second this. You can simultaneously be kind to your departing boss and express thanks for her service without it needing to be a MC role.
There could be 1000s of reasons you dont want to do that role. Personally I'd not give any and just say "sorry no"

Enjoy being MC and do your usual great job.

To decline would be to prove to them all that you were never going to cope with the promotion.
Your boss doesn't deserve your defeatist attitude. She has earned her retirement party. Think of her and relish the MC responsibility.

After the dust has settled, confess to the interview panel that you were disappointed in not getting further interviews. Ask them what you need to do better, as you want to be a serious contender for the next promotion.

Be aspirational, not a sore loser.

I would only do it for a personal reason if you like your boss enough and don’t want to see her let down.

She likely has nothing to do with the decisions on hiring but equally she hasn’t done effective succession planning or positioned you for the role with the Board.

Personally I would be on that flight with my mum!

"Part of me thinks I should just do it professionally and not let anyone down.".

Do that, with a good grace; be the bigger person. It's not your boss's fault.

Who knows what might happen? The new bod may not fit and leave a few weeks later, after which you might receive a grovelling entreaty.
Or another job may come up which is even better and you get that.

Good luck.

Enjoy the do!

ohhhhh
I thought you’d been asked to MC ie to play some banging tunes at the leaving do. 😂
I came up with some suggestions:
9 to 5 by Dolly Parton
Take this job and shove it
We’re not gonna take it
Killing in the name

I had fun with that one.

But no. I wouldn’t be doing anything for her leaving apart from a heartfelt letter to your boss to tell her you’ve valued working alongside her and contributing to the gift.

I also think you have to separate the two things.

Not getting an internal promotion stings. Process that and while you are doing that, take stock of the things you do at work that are important to and add to the role you have.

Thst may mean "acting your wsge" (excellent phrase) while you do that. Droo the fluff and add back in the aspects that are useful and you enjoy.

Don't sulk, it never helps anyone.

Also l99k around for something else. There is always a slight danger when you lose out and stay in role that the incomes might offload the parts of the job they cba with- couched as you are obvs fab etc.

Or they may not to work with someone they perceive as wanting their job, and manage them out.

The MC gig? I'd say "thanks but no thanks" to everyone and privately to the one who is leaving that you don't feel you can do her justice.

Then go on leave. Private lunch with ex-boss at some point to say thanks and bye.

I absolutely would not MC the event, and as others have suggested, I’d be taking a huge step back from all the extras and start looking for a new role asap.

I’ve been in your position, and in my case I actually got down to the last 4 candidates for my bosses job out of an external field of over 50, then didn’t get it because “I was too operational and needed to be more strategic” (that was the feedback).

They then brought in Mr Strategy (it’s always a man!), who spectacularly failed at the job and almost brought the organisation down because he’d never worked in the sector and didn’t understand detail and risk management i.e. all the operational stuff that I knew! He was asked to leave after 18 months, however I’d left for a better role 3 months before that (and very glad I did after the mess he made of things).

It sounds like the Board are very happy keeping you in your dogsbody position, as is your boss. Your boss could have advocated hard for you, articulating your strengths, suggesting they could mentor you for a few months and help smooth the transition. If the Board didn’t appoint you following that then fair enough.

I’d 100% take your mum up on her offer, and honour your boss personally in a different way; perhaps take her for lunch.

Can you do the introduction, and speak a bit about your boss and what she has contributed to the organisation, and then hand over to her replacement to do the rest of the evening - sell it as a good way for her to increase her visibility/for all staff to see her at the start of her tenure?

You might be better than the new CEO, but you might also have made it too obvious you thought you were much better than her, and that lost you a lot in the interview. Being over-confident can be a problem.

Often people who have been for too long in a place are too comfortable and have lost sight of the big picture

@WelshRabBite Act your wage moving forward.

I have never heard this expression before, I LOVE it!

Don't be her MC. That's rubbing salt into your wounds and your boss knows it. She's got some nerve, I'll give her that.

My mother things she could have advocated for me more and wanted to book us flights on hols!!

Your mom is dead on on both points. Go on a holiday with your mom and make some good memories. And don't give your all to your job. They don't care.

My mother things she could have advocated for me more and wanted to book us flights on hols!!

I like the cut of your mother’s jib.

This is not how interview panels work though.

Ah op that's really difficult and it's understandable you're gutted and confidence has taken a hit. I work in the same sector and tbh finance driven leadership at that level is what most boards are looking for now above all else because the funding climate is utterly grim and unlikely to improve any time soon. I actually know quite few people over the last 3/4 years who have had the exact same experience of years of experience and great leadership going for the CEO role and being passed over because funding/ financial experience was the driver behind the interviews. I hate to say it and I don't want to come across as harsh at all, but there has maybe been a small gap in your interview prep/research if you didn't plan hard for that as this has been the case in this sector for a few years now and is such a hot topic. But on the up side, you now know this so you can use that to your advantage should something similar come up in a different organisation or if the new ceo is not the right fit.

So while it's really difficult not to, I actually wouldn't take it personally because that's not unique to the organisation you are working for and genuinely probably is no reflection on your dedication or ability to lead and direct. Your boss probably genuinely did want you to get the job but interview panels have to operate on a very transparent basis especially at that level so there was probably nothing she could do. It's most likely been a scoring system with evidence against each score.

If you like your boss I would do the MC. I understand why you'd feel quite exposed doing it but op you have nothing to feel badly about. You put yourself out there (as you rightly should have) and I imagine others are in your corner more than you'd think. Everyone in that room at some point will have had the experience of being turned down or passed over for a job. Noone is going to be thinking less of you/judging you for it.

I think if you don't do it, people will actually be more inclined to pay attention to that and it could risk coming across petty even though I'm not saying it is petty - people like to look for drama.

The alternative is suggesting you share mc duties with others in your team? So you can still contribute but the whole thing isn't on you?

I'm surprised at all the people saying not to do it.

I'd do it and be fabulous - partly as your outgoing boss asked you to and it's a great leaving gift and partly to prove your professionalism.

Moving forwards though I would work to role specification and practice saying no. I'm a people pleaser but have really learnt to say "hmm, that sounds interesting what would you like me to to stop doing so I can pick it up".

I definitely wouldn't pick up pieces and mask for incoming person if they have problems. I've seen this play out in the charity/ NGO sector a few times as I have a lot of friends who work there. On two of the occasions the in-hire didn't work out and one of the extant team members got the role second time round.

The situation I know best was when an incoming director hilariously refused to work at all outside his core hours which made it really difficult for his wide and international team to arrange meetings with him. The fact the role involved managing people in different time zones wasn't hidden and in general the organisation allowed workday shifting to accommodate such meetings (which weren't that frequent).

The crunch though was when a highly competitive/ strategic grant application didn't get completed despite prompting from the team (two of whom had applied and been passed over) about the impending deadline/ work needed to complete it/ importance of it.

One of them had even approached him in the middle of the previous week asking if they could re-arrange/prioritise other work due to the grant application and had it in writing from him that this wasn't possible/ the grant application wasn't a priority.

This was just as US Aid cut budgets and the lost grant was a big chunk of planned income. Only then did his managers wake up to the fact that a 9-4 director wasn't going to work out. It was interesting that the external hire was a youngish bloke, and the two internal candidates were older women.

And make sure that you do not find yourself onboarding or training the new recruit.

They know what they’re missing. And they’ve decided they’re not fussed.

Yeah that would be a hard no from me!

Punishing? Is the moving-on boss gonna be crying in her leaving-do Chardonnay because the OP doesn't want to be MC? These are grown women.

She (the boss) is moving on; the OP is stuck, and resentful. The OP doesn't owe the boss this big ask and shouldn't be expected to suck it up because her boss may - just may - have advocated for her. Ex-boss lady will understand.

This 100%

Politely decline, and perhaps have a private word with your retiring boss. You could probably say you'd get a bit emotional and would not want to mess up and spoil such as important event.

Master of Ceremonies.

The person who will address the gathering, introduce guests or speakers, make the event run on time and maybe say a few words about the retiree etc

Do not MC this. They will not recognise 'your vision' from your performance. They'll just see it as.......... being a good MC, a good sport, a fitting person to give the MD the send-off they 'deserve'. It won't make them change their minds, it wont change your trajectory, it wont do you any good in the eyes of the business, it wont transform your prospectives within the charity.

This ^

The only reason to do it is because it is a leaving do for a friend and good colleague / boss who you have worked with for a number of years, and she asked if you would. If you want to do it for her, then do so, but DO NOT try and make it into a performance for the board. that really is a terrible idea.

As I said earlier, I would say no, but if you feel you want to do it to give her a lovely send off, then do it for that reason. It is not her fault the board want to go in a different direction from the one where you feel your skills lie.

Let me guess, you’re female and the board aren’t?
Screw that! Stop doing the wife work. They can make an effort for their employee.
This is advice I also need to take 😁