how skilled are your NFP leaders?When it comes to being a successful not for profit, one of the key aspects is the leadership team.  Having a leadership team that is skilled in all aspects of people management is crucial to the success of the NFP.  Often the leaders of an NFP are elected as such because of their business acumen or specific skillset but their actual people skills are often overlooked.  That can be a crucial mistake that can end up costing the NFP a lot of wasted time and resources.

When appointing the leadership team, it is important to assess each member’s ability to:

  • Liaise with all team members regardless of sex, age and race;
  • Lead by example and uphold the ethos of the organisation;
  • Build a rapport not only with external stakeholders but also internal stakeholders and other leaders within the team;
  • Be aware of modern expectations with regard to minority groups, discrimination etc.,
  • Have a skillset that meets various areas required by the NFP.

For those who have already been appointed there is always the avenue for re-assessment of their skill set and ability to meet the above criteria.

We have recently been introduced the Bridgespan Group’s “Building Future Leaders” Diagnostic Survey and highly recommend it to all not for profit organisations as a vital tool to help not only analyse the current leadership team but also to plan for new leaders in the future.

“According to a Bridgespan Group survey of more than 150 non-profit leadership teams, leadership development and succession planning for senior leader positions is the single greatest organisational weakness non-profits face.”

If the leadership team is not performing at its best the entire organisation suffers.  For a NFP, there is little room for error when it comes to presenting a united and multi-faceted team to the public.  There is a strong need to build trust and respect from the outset and any weak links in the leadership team can easily derail this and have a disastrous impact on the future of the NFP.

A progressive thinking, multi-dimensional leadership team will embrace tools like this survey and utilise the results to ensure they are all working together for the good of the NFP not only in the short term but also through succession planning for the future.