By Trish Tchume
The Young Nonprofit Professionals Network’s most recent National Voice Report tested five popular recommendations for developing sector leaders based on over 10 years of research. The report’s headline—that there’s a significant gap between theory and practice when it comes to leadership development—is getting a great deal of attention among folks dedicated to deepening the impact of the sector by investing in its talent. But the conversation has yet to fully engage the HR community: What do we see as our role in making sure that these strategies make their way from print to pavement as intended?
The recommendations the report examined were:
- Nonprofits should offer more competitive compensation
- Nonprofits should invest in building “bench strength”
- Nonprofits should engage in inclusive succession planning
- Nonprofits should prioritize diversity
- Nonprofits should explore new organizational structures that are flatter and more nimble
YNPN tested these recommendations to find out, essentially:
- Whether young nonprofit professionals were excited about the strategy’s potential for impact
- If the nonprofits they work at currently are implementing these strategies
- And, if implemented, whether the strategies are having their intended impact
Good in Theory lays out the findings which came out of this research:
Finding #1 Ideas are great but only if they’re implemented (effectively).
Despite the overwhelming support for these strategies, a good number of the organizations they work for are not implementing them.
Finding #2 Structural change is underrated.
Only half of survey respondents rated structural change as potentially high-impact, a stark contrast to the rave reviews the other four strategies received.
Finding #3 Competitive compensation is key…but a good manager can help.
Focus group participants believed good managers can help make up for low pay. Survey data and commentary indicate that nonprofit managers are interested in their staff’s professional development and are effective internal champions when compensation decisions do arise.
Finding #4 Being left out is not uncommon.
One in five survey respondents whose organizations implemented one of these strategies reported that they were not involved in the development or implementation of that strategy.
Finding #5 Despite systemic challenges, we remain mission driven.
Of the professionals that were hesitant to commit to a nonprofit career, 57% stated that they required their job to have an explicit social mission. This means over 70% of our full sample remains committed to building a mission-driven career.
Good in Theory, Problems in Practice concludes with a number of recommendations for “moving beyond the cusp” of knowing about these leadership development strategies to actually implementing them effectively across the sector (see pages 13-14). The recommendations are geared towards nonprofit executives, emerging leaders, funders, and other sector stakeholders.
Tell us: (this poll may take a few seconds to load)
Here at HRConnections, we’re curious:
What do you see as the specific role of human resources professionals in helping organizations and the sector as a whole “move beyond the cusp” when it comes to effective leadership development? Do any of the recommendations listed in this section of the report particularly resonate with you or remind you of an approach that your organization is implementing? Is there a recommendation that you’d like to hear more from the authors about or see more data behind?
Share your thoughts with us via the comment box below and we’ll expand upon your responses in a subsequent post!
Click here to read the full report and learn more about YNPN.
Trish Tchume is proud to serve as the first-ever National Director of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network after almost 8 years of volunteering for the organization. When not dreaming up various ways to harness the power of emerging nonprofit leaders, Trish likes to help her fellow New Yorkers find their inner voice as a volunteer story coach with the Moth and regularly takes her life into her own hands biking and jogging through the streets of NYC.
Image credit: Young Nonprofit Professionals Network
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The YNPN piece is fantastic! I really wish this was something I felt I could send to current leadership and receive a positive response but I feel like current leadership is so entrenched in ‘the way things are’. I’m a huge proponent of trying to bridge the generational gaps which seem so prevalent in nonprofit orgs. but often feel that the problem is too huge to tackle!
FYI: I shared your work with my readers and I hope it receives a good response! Thanks for this wonderful piece. http://myorangechair.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/leadership-development-in-nonprofits/
Thanks, Anna – we’re so glad to hear that the report is resonating with you!
We’ve gotten feedback from a number of folks who were feeling similarly discouraged about how open the leadership of their organizations would be to addressing the issues reflected in the report, but found that the report served really well as a conversation-starter. I think it helps that Good In Theory builds on the research of organizations that are well-respected cross-generationally (i.e. CompassPoint, Bridgespan, the Building Movement Project) and really focuses on ensuring that leadership development strategies that we’re all invested in are having their intended impact. Hopefully you’ll find it useful as a conversation starter too!
Thanks also for sharing the report via your website. We’re excited to see YNPN among the great resources you have listed!