Despite the great interest that non-profit organizations devote to developing the foundations of leadership, there are still many points that need to be addressed in detail. In fact, many non-profit organizations believe that developing leadership skills is very costly, as it requires conducting training courses for that purpose and full dedication. At the same time, some non-profit organizations believe that training employees in entrepreneurial and leadership aspects may be beneficial but not necessary, whereas executive leaders should focus on other more important matters.

This managerial approach in non-profit organizations often seriously undermines their vision and mission. Therefore, every executive must be aware of five aspects in order for the organization to develop strong leadership.

  1. Leadership development provides significant returns on investment:

Many studies have shown that effective management of human capital and leadership development initiatives significantly contribute to the growth of return on investment. Meanwhile, there are dozens of other studies that have proven that many organizations, regardless of their type and field of work (health, education, media, etc.), have succeeded in achieving high investments by developing leadership foundations within them. Among these studies: “Investing in human capital management and developing leadership capacities in the organization is profitable and yields tangible benefits that exceed costs.”

  1. Enhancing the development of leadership skills leads to strengthening the organization's mission and revenues as well as reducing costs and supporting stability

The concept of high return on investment is not limited to financial aspects; enhancing the development of leadership skills often leads to tangible improvements in the areas of interest to non-profit organizations. In this regard, some non-profit organizations may suffer from fluctuations in business volume, but thanks to the focus on leadership development, they have succeeded in eliminating this problem forever.

On the other hand, some organizations have confirmed that they have been able to achieve their growth objectives, thanks to their focus on studying the problems they face and then developing the talents they need within to face these challenges. Furthermore, by forming a team with leadership fundamentals, they can respond to what the organization’s strategy entails. In general, according to another organization, investing in developing leadership skills does not contradict the organization’s programs but rather contributes to enhancing the impact that the organization aspires to achieve.

  1. Most non-profit organizations spend their allocated funds for leadership development ineffectively

Companies have invested billions of dollars over the past 50 years to study and devise effective ways to develop current and future leaders. The result has been a set of principles that outline best practices that work according to the best programs in both companies and non-profit organizations. Unfortunately, only a few non-profit organizations have taken the initiative to adopt and share these guiding principles.

Professional development experts have proven that about 70% of learning in the workplace occurs by pushing employees to take on tasks that go beyond their knowledge and skills, which contributes to their growth and acquisition of new skills, while 20% occurs through help from managers and peers to employees to succeed in these tasks. Only 10% of learning and skill acquisition occurs through formal training. However, most non-profit organizations focus their leadership skill development resources on this smaller percentage allocated for training, books, and conferences. While all these aspects are necessary, they are not sufficient. Based on this, non-profit organizations need to learn how to leverage these educational principles in the area of developing the entrepreneurial and leadership capacities of individuals so that they can better utilize the limited resources allocated for leadership development.

  1. Most non-profit organizations could create effective leadership if they adopted a courageous approach

Designing and implementing an effective leadership development program is relatively simple but is not without difficulty as it requires courage. Often, an effective program will create a large pool of talent and potential successors ready to perform vital roles within the organization.

Leadership development programs often allocate limited resources to invest in employees who represent potential future successful leaders, meanwhile, selecting a leader from among a group of employees requires a lot of courage, as those who are not selected may resign or adopt an adversarial stance. Moreover, investing in leadership initiatives requires some courage when it comes to salaries.

  1. Non-profit organizations can achieve significant improvements for free and instantly

Organizations can make immediate progress in leadership skill development, even with limited or no funding. If your non-profit has enough time to do one thing, let it be appointing an executive director with experience in leadership development and succession management for boards of directors. Following that, give this executive a clear mandate to act as the chair of the human capital board, and you can look for such an employee from your partner list or job sites. It is important to take a concrete step to develop and enhance leadership gains in the organization, while you can utilize many free studies available on the subject and a wealth of other written resources available.

Source: Stanford Social Innovation

Author: James Chappell Jr.