Developing Nonprofit Executives - Updated & Expanded
The Skills, Experiences & Attributes Your Next Leader Needs
A few years ago I was asked by publisher Wiley: Jossey Bass to present a Webinar based on a study of Nonprofit Leadership Development that I had authored when I worked at Dewey & Kaye. In the 10 years since the study was published I have had the opportunity to work with many organizations on Succession Planning and Leadership Development, so I was grateful for the opportunity to update and expand on my previous work.
In the original study, we focused heavily on the competencies or attributes needed to lead a nonprofit. Two other areas, not focused on in the original study, play an equal role in an Executive's success - functional skills and types of experiences. As we originally discovered from our discussions with leading Executives, most didn’t have all of these needed qualities when they took the position. Instead, they learned on the job through trial and error. But as the nonprofit sector faces an unprecedented wave of retirements, we have the opportunity to formally develop Executives in advance with the skills, experiences, and leadership attributes they will need to lead tomorrow’s organizations.
Let’s start with the process map for developing Nonprofit Executives shown here:
In the original study, we focused heavily on the competencies or attributes needed to lead a nonprofit. Two other areas, not focused on in the original study, play an equal role in an Executive's success - functional skills and types of experiences. As we originally discovered from our discussions with leading Executives, most didn’t have all of these needed qualities when they took the position. Instead, they learned on the job through trial and error. But as the nonprofit sector faces an unprecedented wave of retirements, we have the opportunity to formally develop Executives in advance with the skills, experiences, and leadership attributes they will need to lead tomorrow’s organizations.
Let’s start with the process map for developing Nonprofit Executives shown here:
Box #2 in the process map is the focus of this article. Described below are the most common set of skills, competencies and types of experience needed for a nonprofit executive. However as we learned in the initial study, size, type, organizational life stage, and where funding and revenue come from, can change the qualifications needed for each organization. Which is why Step 1 is necessary to customize the Executive job description or job profile for a specific organization.
Let’s look at the competencies or leadership attributes of a successful nonprofit leader. The original competencies are still relevant but as you can see below we have added a few new ones and rearranged the priority order.
Let’s look at the competencies or leadership attributes of a successful nonprofit leader. The original competencies are still relevant but as you can see below we have added a few new ones and rearranged the priority order.
Here is a common list of prioritized skills that aspiring Executives should acquire. Do you agree with the order of priority? What would you change, add or delete for your organization?
And finally, here is a list of experiences that (ideally) someone should have before assuming the top Executive job.
As you can see in the Process map described above, creating the Leadership Profile of skills, attributes and needed experience is just one step in the leadership development process. Identifying potential leaders, assessing them against the model, identifying what they need (their developmental priorities), and then deciding HOW best to develop these skills, attributes and experiences must follow.