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An Exclusive Study of
NGO’s Leaders Working Style
Dr. Neha Arora
Asst Professor, Delhi School of Business
3-A Kusumanjli Priyadarshni Nagar, Bareilly, UP-243005
ABSTRACT
NGO leaders often face extraordinary challenges –
both at a personal and organizational level. They
work for long hours with limited resources in
uncertain and volatile political and economic
environment to help the most marginalized and
disadvantaged members of their communities.
NGO leaders are often isolated and lack support of
society. There is talk of a leadership deficit,
because of the shortage of talented leaders and in
non-profit making sector. As a result there is some
urgency to develop a new generation of leaders,
and to provide relevant support to existing and
future leaders. Leadership development
programmes designed for NGO leaders must
incorporate best practice and current experience
rather than rehashing tired, traditional approaches
to leadership training.
This paper examines the role of leadership
development in NGO and assesses some of the
challenges in developing a new generation of
NGO leaders. The paper draws on the analysis of
new and existing research into the dimensions of
NGO leadership highlighting the importance of
both individual attributes and contextual
relevance. Effective NGO leaders are able to
balance a range of competing pressures from
different stakeholders in ways that do not
compromise their individual identity and values.
Leadership development programmes therefore
need to focus on both the values and identity of
individual leaders while also assisting leaders
understand and proactively respond to the rapidly
changing external environment. Additionally, the
research is focused on the experience of
workplace cultures which provide the context for
the delivery of human services, and have also
discussed the current charitable human services
paradigm.
The paper also focuses on urgent need to build the
capacity of NGOs to develop their leadership
capability. The faith and secularity of each NGO
also presented opportunities to map organizational
intention around leadership, spirituality, ethics and
values such that further research opportunities will
be highlighted across the results. Unless systems
and processes to support this work are put in place
then the apocryphal warning that “tress die from
up “will have more than a ring of truth in it”. Desk
research will be done and will be carefully
analysis of data from secondary sources will be
made to make this research paper useful for the
NGO’s.
Keywords: - NGO’s, leaders, values, ethics,
development programs, charismatic, second-line
leaders, management styles, spirituality, human
cultures, charity, capacity development.
1. INTRODUCTION
In every organisation and shared effort, competent
leadership has always been considered vital and
there have been research on leaders and leadership
from time to time in various sectors. "However,
most attention is given to the visible and
influential domains of leadership that form and
direct society through the – often allied – powers
of politics and of wealth creating businesses. The
emerging domain of non-profit or civic leaders
and leadership remains relatively unexplored and
poorly understood" (Fowler, 2000: 1).
Again, most of the research in business and
politics has been done in the developed countries
without giving adequate attention to the social
development leaders in the non-governmental
sector who do not aspire to political power, but
work to improve the lives of the powerless in the
society (Fowler, 2000). Unlike government or for-
profit sectors, NGOs have the distinctive mission
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of social change and they focus on people who
have not been brought under either the
government or private sector programmes. This
mission and related characteristics create distinct
management challenges for NGOs (Hailey, 1999).
Appropriate leadership is crucial to face these
challenges. Like other organisations, NGOs go
through various stages of growth and change.
There has been very little research to analyze the
role and characteristics of NGO leaders at
different stages of the organisation.
As development actors, NGOs have become the
main service providers in countries where the
government is unable to fulfill its traditional role.
NGOs are increasingly involved in capacity
development. As the development discourse leans
towards developing skills and tools for
strengthening society, NGOs have reacted
accordingly. They wish first and foremost to
remain important stakeholders in development and
to impart their extensive knowledge in every
sector possible. This involvement changes the
ways in which NGOs operate. Capacity-building
activities complement traditional service
provision, though this does not mean that all
NGOs have good relations with government. In
any case, NGO activities are increasingly diverse.
They have an impact on the interpretation of
capacity development. NGOs are influenced by
the ideology of capacity development as defined
by the hegemonic development discourse, but they
also influence its meaning from the outside. This
modified interpretation of capacity development
can weaken central government but strengthen it
in the long term. NGOs have the capacity to
innovate and adapt more quickly than national
governments; therefore, their actions can
undermine government initiatives. But if they
scale up their activities and impart their
knowledge and techniques at the government
level, the country as a whole can benefit. NGOs
have a significant impact on the whole process but
are also plagued by severe obstacles. NGOs
continue to suffer from a lack of resources and
from their general estrangement from the state.
Unless they become partners with government,
and not competitors, capacity-building initiatives
will continue to be stunted.
1.1 RATIONALE AND FOCUS
In spite of the successes of ‘start-up’ stage NGO
leaders in the growth, diversity and quality of their
work, most Indian organisations is yet to develop
second-line leadership. There have also been
anecdotal references to the ‘charismatic leaders’
that they try to maintain status quo through not
letting others grow as potential future leaders, that
they do not have enough confidence in others, and
so on. Some people also say that the issue has not
been a concern in most of the NGOs since the
beginning. As indicated earlier, there is scarcity of
research and literature in this field. Exploring the
issues related to individual and organizational
attributes of leadership and development of
second line leaders in NGOs is the focus of this
paper.
“Like the religious leaders start their speech
with ‘as God has said in the holy book’, each
meeting in [the NGO] starts with 'as [the
founder of organization] has said…”
– Staff member of a national NGO in India
The work of Hailey and Smillie (2001) on NGO
leadership is one of the very first systematic
research in this area which is mostly focused on
the characteristics of successful NGO leaders in
Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. All the
organisations covered in the study are big NGOs
with complex management structures. The study
does not focus on medium sized, local and more
membership type NGOs. Some of the practices
and anecdotal evidences show that second-line
leadership development has been a challenge for
most of the development NGOs irrespective of
size, focus and origin. The above quote from an
NGO staff indicates how dependent that
organisation is on its founder leader. Some other
evidence includes:
The founder leaders do most of the
representations in external meetings and
forum, and also get directly involved in all
decision-making and day-to-day
management. These indicate the absence of
suitable alternative people in these
organisations.
Many founder leaders get scared when
something goes wrong in their personal life
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(e.g. sickness). One such leader was heard
to say to a partner of CRY NGO saying,
“what will happen to my organisation if I
die tomorrow?” Some NGO staff members
are unwilling to express their opinion even
on small issues without talking to their
leaders. When a donor asked to revise the
annual plans and budgets of a local NGO,
the staff members said, “We cannot do it
because [the leader] prepared the annual
plans and budgets before leaving for the
current foreign tour which was several
weeks even before the process started”.
There have been a wide range of complaints
from outgoing staff of NGOs about their
leaders’ unwillingness to let potential staff
grow for future leadership roles.
According to Fowler (2000), the knowledge gap in
the study of leaders and leadership in NGOs may
have important consequences for thinking,
policies and practice in the development field such
as
It may set unwarranted boundaries around
the concepts, frameworks and theories
applied to understand how societies
generate, appreciate and distribute
leadership.
It limits and may distort the picture of
leadership that gives rise to the “actual
configurations of civic institutions and
organisational behaviours to be found
across the world”. In a politically weak state
with less accountability to citizens, such
distortions may “give rise to highly
questionable policy recommendations,
expectations and programmes of external
assistance”.
The perspectives from the business sector
increasingly become the reference points
and ways to analyse, understand and
improve the leadership in societies.
The third consequence may create a
‘monochrome, if not monolithic’ view of the
business sector dominating the analysis of
leadership. Some analysts argue that leaders in the
Third Sector have to make more significant
contributions to the organisations than those in the
corporate sector. Despite the lack of research on
the reasons for the greater impact of the leaders in
voluntary organisations, “the nature and quality of
voluntary sector leadership is considered more
likely to determine achievement than in other
organisations” (Fowler, 2000: 5).
Developing second-line leaders (preferably from
within the organisation) is a crucial issue in NGO
management, but many experts observe that it is
not happening in most cases. While developing
second-line leaders is important for all
organisations, it seems even more important for
NGOs because:
NGOs are value driven organisations and
there is need to maintain an optimum level
of continuity of their vision, mission and
values. This can be done effectively through
developing professionals from within the
organisation to take future leadership role.
NGOs are known as training grounds for
social entrepreneurs with the potential to
spread their values in the wider society.
This can be done more effectively through
creating leadership capacities within the
organisation.
Creation of capable second-line leaders will
enable the founder leaders to get involved in
more policy advocacy and long-term
strategic work.
The aid agencies have attached high priority
to ‘capacity building’ in the developing
countries – both in public and voluntary
sectors. Leadership development is a key
concern to investigate the capacity
limitations in the voluntary sector.
2. PERSPECTIVES ON
LEADERSHIP
Definitions
There are a wide range of definitions of the
concept of leadership and the role of a leader.
Dictionary definitions identify a leader as one that
provides guidance by going in front, or causes
others to go with them. Leadership is defined as
the capacity to lead. In a recent review of
leadership theory Northouse (2004) identified four
common themes that run through much of
leadership theory: 1) leadership is a process; 2)
leadership involves influence; 3) leadership occurs
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in a group context; 4) leadership involves the
attainment of goals.
Based on this analysis leadership was defined as
‘a process whereby an individual influences a
group or individuals to achieve a common goal’.
But it is clear that no one definition encapsulates
all the facets of leadership. Consequently we must
accept there will be a range of different
interpretations and perceptions of leadership and
what leaders do.
Leaders and Leadership: Some Thought
Revoking Statements
Leadership is …
• ‘the art of mobilising others’
• ‘the art of getting someone else to do
something you want done
Because s/he wants to do it’
• ‘getting things done through other people,
willingly’
Leaders …
• ‘empower others’
• ‘leverage more than their own capability’
• ‘articulate visions, embody values and create
an environment within which things can be
achieved?’
• ‘shape and share a vision which gives point to
the work of others’
• ‘are best when they barely know that s/he
exists’
• ‘with the best of leaders, when the work is
done, the project completed, the people will say
“we did it ourselves”
Another way of trying to identify the different
elements of leadership is to create a typology of
different kinds of leadership. This typology is
derived from the research reviewed in this paper,
and outlines four different types of NGO leader:
1) Paternalistic 2) Activist; 3) Managerialist and
4) Catalytic.
Paternalistic often built on established personal
or kinship relationships. They inspire great
loyalty, and have strong, close, possibly even a
familial relationship with staff and volunteers. But
to outsiders they can appear autocratic, reliant on
hierarchical ways of working or top-down
organisational structures, and overly-dependent on
traditional relationship which may not be
sustainable in the long run. Activist leaders are
actively engaged in advocacy and lobbying work.
They are highly motivated, often charismatic, and
typically focused on a single issue. In practice
they energise and inspire ‘followers’ with clearly
articulated messages – sometimes at the expense
of dealing with more mundane managerial or
organisational issues. Managerialist leaders are
rated for their managerial and administrative
abilities. They typically demonstrate an
instrumental ability to manage organisations, and
can effectively establish reliable systems and
appropriate structures, as well as manage a diverse
workforce with established roles and
responsibilities. Catalytic leaders typically act as
strategic catalysts within the NGO context, and
have the ability to promote and implement change.
They demonstrate a wider world-view, and the
capacity to take a longer-term strategic view while
balancing tough decisions about strategic
priorities with organisational values and identity.
Their success as change agents depends on their
ability to delegate work to talented colleagues, so
freeing time to engage actively with external
stakeholders and partners, build coalitions and
strategic alliances, and be involved in a variety of
networks.
The value of such a typology is that it goes
beyond simple definitions and gives an insight
into the variety of different leadership styles
around. The typology highlights the complexity of
trying to identify the characteristics of successful
leaders – if only because, in their own ways, each
of these different leadership types is successful in
the particular context in which it operates.
However, as will be explored later, the ‘catalytic’
leadership type is more likely to generate longer-
term, sustainable, strategic growth than the others.
2.1 NGO LEADERS: CONTEXT
AND CULTURE
Here we focus on the evolving role of NGO
leaders and the way the environment in which
they work impacts on this role. It draws on
research from a variety of sources, and sees
leadership in the particular cultures and contexts
in which NGOs operate. What is clear from this
research is that not only do individual leaders play
a central role in shaping the destiny of many
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NGOs, but that their role and effectiveness is in
part determined by the environment in which they
work (Kelleher & McLaren, 1996, Fowler, 1997,
Smillie& Hailey, 2001, Hailey & James, 2004,
James et al. 2005).
There are also worries about the lack of leadership
talent to be found within the context of the non-
profit sector as a whole. This ‘leadership deficit’
will become a matter of urgency as the sector
expands over the next twenty years. It is estimated
that in India alone over half a million new senior
managers will have to be developed for leadership
positions in the period 2007–2016. What is also
apparent is that many of these jobs will be filled
by individuals recruited from outside the sector
who will have had limited experience of running
non-profits at a senior level.
Currently it is estimated that only 40 per cent of
senior management positions in Indian non-profits
are filled by internal appointments and that the
remainder are recruited externally (Tierney). In
the 1990s the International Forum on Capacity
Building, which was an international coalition of
NGOs concerned with building the organisational
and managerial capacity of the sector as a whole,
consistently voiced its concerns at the quality and
availability of appropriate leadership. It argued
strongly for increased investment to develop a
new generation of NGO leaders (1998 and 2001).
CIVICUS, an international alliance of civil society
organisations, similarly identified the lack of
NGO leadership talent as a matter of particular
concern. It suggested that this was partly a
consequence of the rapid turnover of senior staff
and the difficulty in replacing them, and that
NGOs needed to do more to recruit and retain
effective leaders (CIVICUS, 2002).
Not only do individual leaders play a central
role in shaping the destiny of many NGOs, but
their role and effectiveness is in part
determined by the environment in which they
work.
Unfortunately much of our understanding of the
way leaders work and what motivates them is
based on research into the role and character of
leaders in the business, political or military
sectors. Furthermore, much of this research is
based on studies in the developed industrialized
countries of India, with a particular focus on the
individualistic, low power distance cultures of
different states of India. Relatively little research
has been undertaken on leadership in the non-
profit or public sector, and what research there is
has mainly been based on the experience of US
non-profits and has focused on the work of Boards
rather than individual leaders. Allison (2002)
reviewed the number of books concerned with
non-profit management carried by Amazon.com,
and estimated that only about 10 per cent were
concerned with non-profit leadership.
2.2 LEADERSHIP STUDIES IN
BUSINESS, POLITICS AND THE
THIRD SECTOR-NGO: A
COMPARISON
The principal goal of the leadership research in
business is to find and develop people who can
improve competitiveness and generate economic
value. While the key objective in such research is
to find out why and how those people who are
preeminent stand out in the creation of ‘economic
capital’ and financial wealth, the efforts aim at
prescribing models, methods and guidelines for
potential leaders (Fowler, 2000). With such
utilitarian purpose and the implicit intention to
view leadership and management very close to
each other, leadership research in this sector tries
to expose and teach how leadership can ensure
business profit. While linking leadership with the
economic performance, such research also looks
at certain human elements and processes such as a
leader’s psychological characteristics, life shaping
experiences, relationships, personal behaviour,
etc. However, all these are geared towards the
financial profit generation goal of business. An
indicator of the dominance of the research and
theories from this sector on leadership is the
number of books coming to the market with own
styles and approaches every year (Grint, 1997a).
The study of leadership in politics tries to
investigate and explain an individual’s success in
terms of his/her “socio-economic origins,
psychological characteristics, life-shaping
experiences, significant relationships, personal
behaviour and political ideology and agenda”
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(Fowler, 2000: 4). It seeks to analyse how these
elements contribute to political leadership in
certain contexts of time and place, and this is done
in many cases from the perspective of a historian
or a biographer. Political leadership may emerge
from reactions against certain oppressions, and/or
social and labour movements. The biographies of
M.K. Gandhi and Nelson Mandela (Sampson,
1999) are two examples. These studies seldom
lead to “prescription in terms of dedicated
programmes of individual formation and political
advancement or selection” and, in this sense,
“political leaders ‘arise to the moment’, they are
seldom formally trained for such roles” (Fowler,
2000: 4).
There has been little research and knowledge on
the third sector leadership or civic leadership. One
indicator of this is the very few journals dedicated
to the non-profit leadership and management.
Biographies of civic leaders are difficult to find
despite their “more substantial contribution to the
society than commonly assumed” (Fowler, 2000).
Their contributions have been significant in
employment creation, contribution to gross
domestic product and in size in comparison with
industry groups (Salamon and Anheier, 1998).
The importance of NGO leadership is increasingly
being recognised. Some recent initiatives include:
The Aga Khan Foundation funded study on
the growth of NGOs in South Asia looking
specifically at leadership (Hailey, 1999).
A Ford Foundation funded programme to
develop a new generation of NGO leaders
(CODE-NGO, 1998).
The recent research initiated by Alan
Fowler on what makes NGO leaders
effective, when and how transitions take
place, and who the success or generations
are and how they are formed (Fowler,
2000).
Nevertheless, these initiatives are few, compared
to the vast area of the NGOs and the rich
experience of the leaders in this sector all over the
world. Leaders and leadership in NGOs remain
“an Achilles’ heel of capacity building initiatives
is it for social development or political-civic ends”
(Fowler, 2000: 6). Simultaneously, it is also clear
that there has hardly been any organised initiative
so far to investigate the issue of developing
second-line leaders in NGOs.
3. NGO LEADERSHIP:
EVOLVING ROLES AND
CHARACTERISTICS
Typical of the competencies commonly associated
with leadership are the ability of a leader to
communicate vision or strategy, inspire teams,
motivate individuals, and identify opportunities
and initiate transformation.
Many effective leaders demonstrate high levels
of self awareness, are capable of self
management, are socially aware and are well
able to manage a diverse range of relationships.
In general, the influences on the NGO leaders
come from the events and incidents in early life
such as the Renaissance, liberation movements
(e.g. setting up of BRAC), education, family
values and practices, etc. For one of the leaders,
apart from the Renaissance and Asian liberation
movements, the influencing figures have been
Nehru and Gandhi. For him, Nehru provided the
ideas of solidarity, citizenship, potential of people
in the South (e.g. people in the South can do
things themselves), while the ideas of self-respect,
non-violent movements for liberation and change,
etc came from Gandhi.
3.1 Ngo Capacity
Many NGOs are having difficulty attracting
educated professionals, especially those willing to
work in rural areas. Trained MSWs have lucrative
opportunities working abroad and it is also
becoming increasing difficult to retain talent in the
face of fast growth in the corporate sector. BPOs,
banks and other growing sectors are able to poach
employees away with offers of much higher
salaries and advancement opportunities.
NGOs have adopted a couple of strategies in this
regard. Some institutions have begun hiring recent
graduates and providing them a year-long training
with the expectation that they would stay on.
Another approach is recruiting talent from rural
communities and providing training to enable
them to work in the field. This strategy is effective
in that rural recruits are familiar with local
communities and are more likely to stay on the
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job. The limitation, however, is that these local
recruits lack confidence (to interact with
government officials and funders) and managerial
skills.
We heard about a degree of tension within
established NGOs between older employees and
educated recruits. The lack of readiness to change
by senior people in the organization is a source of
frustration for increasingly impatient younger
employees and in some cases the key reason for
their departure.A concern is that many NGOs had
not substantially enhanced their ability to embed
and share leadership within the organization. In
some cases founders and senior leaders hold a
tight grip over shaping the course of the
organization.
Saath Experience: Learning About Leadership
Quest
Mission: SAATH works in slums to address a
number of issues, including livelihoods, capacity
building, health, education, physical infrastructure
improvement, access to resources and services,
slum development and natural resource
management. SAATH also started a social
enterprise, Urmila Home Managers. "Healthcare,
slum education, micro-finance, youth and
women’s employment… Ahmadabad-based Saath
has myriad programmes to improve the lot of the
urban poor. In some way, its initiatives can be
likened to a complex web that touches every
corner of their lives. “This web is not to trap, but a
mechanism to uplift the urban poor,” says
Chinmayi Desai, Director, Urban Programmes,
Saath." Area of work: Ahmadabad, Gujarat
Founded by Rajendra Joshi in 1989
Ideology: Integrated Slum Development
(Address as many issues as possible in one
situation) Need to build partnerships, especially
with the government (e.g.: Ahmadabad Municipal
Corporation).Active partnership of slum dwellers
vs. passive participations (welfare model) -
Services would not be free. Free services tend to
reduce incentive and self esteem. Challenge:
How to create opportunities through which slum
residents become active change agents of
development? Increasing their management and
technical expertise Nurturing leadership.
Enhancing their self-esteem and self-confidence.
Leadership Programme: - Saath strongly
believes that behavioural change only really takes
place when the learning experience is both
intellectual and emotional. The programme creates
time and space not only for busy leaders to reflect,
but also to challenge themselves, in the belief that
the more that leaders become aware of their
strengths and weaknesses and can develop
strategies to work with these, then the more
effective they will be. To achieve this, they use a
variety of learning methodologies including:
• Making small groups of three people discuss set
questions or specific problems)
• Refer to individual reflections and plans are
written in personal journals
• They using narrative stories to illustrate issues or
theories
• Group Reflections two participants discuss
personal issues, reflections and plans
• The daily sessions to help unwind and relieve
stress
As with many of the more respected leadership
programmes they take a holistic approach to the
individual, and so look at different elements of the
personal state – the socio-emotional, the physical,
the spiritual and the mental linkage between these.
But fundamental to the success of this programme
is that it provides hope, and helps individuals to
identify the core purpose of their life. This is
referred to as their quest. This process helps them
generate a clearer sense of their own identity,
which in turn enables them to balance external
demands without compromising their core values.
3.2 Training & Development
Many NGOs recognize the need for enhancing
technical skills in the area of management. In
encounters, the need for leadership development
of NGO staff was not often a priority.
Organizations were committed first to the
constituents they served and seemed far less
focused on the development of their staff.
Learning occurred primarily on the job and most
training was focused on job-related skills. Few
organizations appear to focus much on “self
actualization” for staff. This lack of personal
development, stated one educator, was a factor in
the high burnout rates and stagnation present in
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the sector. “People need rejuvenation” observed
the president of SMILE NGO.
In some cases there was skepticism that leadership
could be developed and needed to be available for
staff at large. A SMILE foundation representative
stated that there needs to be better validation of
the value of leadership development at lower
levels. Other institutions, however, voiced the
perspective that leadership development had broad
value based on the premise that one could enact
leadership “without being in a position of
authority.” The skills identified for training
included: identity development, self-confidence,
motivation, perspective development, articulation
of thoughts and public speaking, risk taking, team
building and relationship development, conflict
management, and building consensus.
With regard to training there is also the expressed
tension between being able to afford time for staff
to attend programs (“only people who have no
work can attend training”) and the realization that
self study or online programs are not adequate for
learning.
“You can’t learn leadership from a book; it is
akin to reading a menu and feeling full.”
The existing training programs we encountered
were usually delivered by independent trainers
and used dialogue, role play, and group exercises
to help individuals assess strengths and
weaknesses, and build skills and abilities. These
programs were often delivered at very low cost
with basic amenities and residential options to
make them affordable.
A number of educational and training institutions
were working to do more for NGO professionals.
They are planning to ramp up new offerings to
provide NGO staff with ongoing professional
development. Even so, these institutions admitted
that it was hard to scale their operations enough to
address the vast need for training in adequate
measure.
3.3 Collective Capacity
Many NGOs had established effective models for
addressing social needs and had plans for
expansion. Many of the organizations, however,
saw the scope of need in India to far exceed their
present reach of activities. This was related to the
shortage of human resources said Tarang Chief
Executive – “we need a lot more qualified people
in the field” – as well as their ability to address
the vast challenges alone.” In many cases
organizations expansion plans were linked to
forming alliances with other NGO, corporate, and
governmental entities.
The need for collective effort was emphasized by
several people with whom we spoke. We heard
that there is a critical need to work constructively
with governmental agencies, corporations, and
funding bodies. Embedded in this was the
recognition that these entities had differing
agendas that were not always seen to be in the
interest of the poor. Concern was expressed about
corporate social responsibility being primarily
about public relations than creating change. A
founder of a rural NGO also voiced dissatisfaction
that large NGOs had a tendency to become big
bureaucracies that simply subcontracted work and
did so with short attention spans – “you can’t
subcontract vision or passion.We nevertheless
heard expressed the need for NGOs to work
together more effectively to align efforts, share
learning and best practices, and consolidate their
power. An older NGO mentioned that with
maturity they were now less concerned that
partnering with another NGO would enable the
other to “steal their funding.”
Creative leadership is thinking and acting
beyond boundaries to achieve more than
imagined.
4. LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT: A BIGGER
CHALLENGE AHEAD
Any commentary on the future role of NGO
leaders or new approaches to leadership
development will first have to come to grips with
the changing nature of society and the breakdown
of traditional social structures and values, and the
impact of globalisation and technological
advances. Organisations also face dramatic
changes, partly because they will have to work in
a more collaborative manner with partners or
through networks, and partly because of the
changing nature of work and the expectations of
their workforce. Staff loyalty cannot be taken for
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granted, and leaders will increasingly have to
defend their role and status, as well as justify how
they ‘won the right to lead’. Employees also
expect increased flexibility in work practices,
greater investment in staff development, and
enhanced job satisfaction. In this context
leadership is a shared responsibility. It is one
based on openness, empathy, and integrity.
Leaders are expected to have a wider knowledge
base and an ability to work with multi-cultural
teams or in different cultural contexts, as well as
communicate or negotiate with a wide range of
individuals or stakeholders.
In this changing environment leadership is viewed
as the key organisational asset. Leaders will have
to make sense of uncertainty and develop the
skills and energy to manage unpredictable
situations. Leaders will have to become
increasingly adaptable and cope with the
challenge of working in and across different
cultures. They will also have to become more and
more adept at working externally. The trend for
NGOs to work in collaborative partnerships or in
new consortiums means that NGO leader will
have to learn not just networking skills, but also
the ability to negotiate and resolve conflicts with a
variety of different players from different
backgrounds and cultures. They will therefore
have to develop new competencies as networkers,
coalition builders and boundary spanners. In this
regard there will be greater emphasis on the
qualities of adaptability and resilience, as well as
judgement and analysis (particularly
environmental scanning).
Leaders are expected to have a wider
knowledge base and an ability to work with
multi-cultural teams or in different cultural
contexts, as well as communicate or negotiate
with a wide range of individuals or
stakeholders.
There is now enough awareness of the downside
and dy-functionality of ‘strong’ leadership.
Increasingly leaders will be judged by the way
they incorporate ethics and integrity into their
work, and operate in a sufficiently participative
way. This pressure for less of a top-down
leadership style and a more collegial or
participative approach means that individual
leaders will have to be seen to be team-players
and coalition builders.
They will have to have ‘earned the right to lead’,
by having ‘walked the talk’ or ‘led by example’.
As such those in leadership positions will not only
have to be more directly involved with colleagues
and so be able to delegate responsibilities, but also
actively listen and accept feedback, displaying
openness, empathy, integrity and self-awareness.
As we have seen there is a need for more research
to better understand and identify the attributes and
competencies NGO leaders should have to handle
the demands they face in the future. This will also
help identify the systems and processes that NGOs
need to establish to ensure that the most suitable
individuals are recruited to leadership positions
and are equipped with the necessary attributes or
competencies.
This has implications for the way human resource
strategies are implemented, the way that NGOs
recruit and retain key staff and how they will
develop the skills and competencies needed by the
next generation of leaders. It is also clear that
leadership will not merely be measured on short-
term performance results, but also on longer-term
impact and the ability to handle the moral, ethical
and social responsibilities that organisations are
expected to take on. There will also be increasing
scrutiny of their pro-poor stance, and the degree to
which their work genuinely has an impact on the
lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
There will be pressure for greater accountability,
improved governance, and clearer strategic
direction; in other words, calls for ‘more and
better leadership’.
Consequently organisations will need to invest
more time in developing their leadership
capabilities, while leaders themselves will have to
invest in their own personal development and
greater self-awareness. This implies that they need
to engage in more personalized leadership
development work, and in particular be open to
personal coaching or mentoring.
A crucial question will be ‘what type of leader
we are trying to develop’?
A crucial question will be what type of leader are
we trying to develop? As has been reiterated
throughout this paper not only is there a growing
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ISSN: 2278-5612 Volume 1, No 3, September, 2012
©Council for Innovative Research 172 | P a g e
leadership deficit in the non-profit sector generally
and a limited pool of leadership talent to draw on,
but also little real understanding of what sort of
leaders are needed in the future. One way to
approach this is to use the typology of leadership
set out earlier in this paper.
The question of how to assess what type of leader
is best suited to the specific requirements of
NGOs depends on, first, their ability to engage
with the external world, and second, their skill at
managing performance. These two criteria are
crucial to ensuring the long-term sustainability
and growth of any NGO in the 21st Century.
The ability to engage with the external world is
about building inter-organisational alliances and
developing innovative ways of working with
existing partners or new NGO consortia, as well
as actively engaging in strategic networks. The
ability to manage and encourage effective
performance is as much about implementing
change and transforming an organisation, as it is
about managing staff, delegating responsibilities,
or introducing new systems.
A Successful Short Course on Leadership
Six most important words: ‘I admit I made a
mistake’
Five most important words: ‘I am proud of
you’
Four most important words: ‘What is your
opinion?’
Three most important words: ‘If you please’
Two most important words: ‘Thank you’
One most important word: ‘We’
Least important word: ‘I’
(Adair, 1983)
5. CONCLUSION
All the evidence suggests that the leadership of
NGOs is an issue of some importance. Such
leaders can shape the destiny of not just the
organization itself, but also the communities with
which they work. Effective NGO leaders do have
a pro-poor agenda, and can impact the lives of the
most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Unfortunately
there is some concern about a growing ‘leadership
deficit’, and where the next generation of leaders
will come from and how they will be developed or
trained.
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