Searching for Jane Goodall
If two thirds of nonprofit executive directors step down in the next five years, who will carry the torch?
A child was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She said she wanted to work for the Red Cross. In shock, her teacher responded, “Oh no, dear. You are far too smart to work for a nonprofit!” True story. Ask college students who their social heroes are. “Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi . . .” Wait. How about someone who is alive? Silence.
In 2007, we asked 2,000-plus teens across three states to name some nonprofits. A quarter couldn’t identify a single one; half couldn’t name three. A random street survey of adults conducted by the Community Foundation of Boulder, Colorado in 2004 found virtually the same scenario—yes, Boulder, where 83 percent of adults have attended college. So, if it is true that two thirds of nonprofit executive directors will step down in the next five years, according to a 2011 report of the Meyer Foundation, and there will be stiff competition for talent as baby boomers retire, who will carry the torch?
In 2011, the Colorado Nonprofit Association and the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations teamed up with the nonprofit research and advisory group Pathfinder Solutions to create statewide talent development infrastructures. The impetus for this initiative comes amid growing concerns for the long-term vitality of the nonprofit sector and its capacity to cultivate human capital. Over 1,700 responses came from 75 counties and parishes. The findings are clear: statistically significant correlations exist between capacity to cultivate talent and organizational sustainability and impact. Statistical correlations also exist between talent development and job satisfaction, performance and retention. Yet the path leading to nonprofit leadership has giant potholes.
The nonprofit sector stands passionately behind every celebrated cause and the masses of people who hope to correct society’s misfortunes. We hope for a better future for our children—and the nonprofit sector upholds much of this good work. But where are the road signs to careers in the field? Ninety-six percent of Colorado respondents say they are “proud” of their work, yet a full third say they are not confident their organization will exist in five years. Just 3 percent were encouraged by a counselor to explore the field, and only 2 percent found their jobs via university career services. Ninety-five percent have a college education, but 63 percent never took one nonprofit course. Sixty-four percent perceive opportunities in the field are NOT obvious, and just 4 percent of organizations have succession plans in place. (Read the full Louisiana report.)
Nonprofits increasingly bear the burden of providing services as our economy falters and government funding recedes. Yet, surely, it is not only financial resources that will enable us to provide the best services and run the most successful programs. We must consider talent—human capital ROI. Moreover, talent begets talent. Corporations get this. Sports get this. Medicine gets this. Of the 118 correlations we looked into between talent development indicators and measures of success, 87 percent were found to be statistically significant. So shouldn’t the nonprofit sector be paying more attention to the talent development process? We think so.
Pathfinder Solutions is thus actively translating these research findings into on-the-ground approaches, including tactics for state associations, regional and cause-based networks, cross-sector collaboration, service learning, academia, philanthropy, diversity/inclusion, and development opportunities for younger generations. We aim to:
1. Promote community vitality and civic engagement with campaigns that advance nonprofit careers and increase related educational and professional opportunities.
2. Analyze workforce trends and points of entry to nonprofit work and help organizations bridge gaps, e.g., by strengthening service learning with mutually beneficial opportunities for nonprofits, students, and schools.
3. Build multi-sectorial strategic dialogue pipelines, involving high schools, colleges and universities, workforce centers, economic development groups, funders, and nonprofits.
4. Create broadly conceived and widely executed nonprofit talent development processes that match the unique characteristics of a particular region or cause.
5. Increase nonprofit organizational capacity to recruit, develop, and retain staff and board from diverse backgrounds, with systems that promote inclusive leadership and cultivation of emerging leaders.
6. Improve internal workings of nonprofits, using best practices that clarify advancement pipelines, increase board engagement, and support successful leadership transition.
7. Identify and promote measurable metrics, showing the relationship between inclusive talent development and staff satisfaction, individual performance and organizational effectiveness.
Alexandra Mitchell is president and Jeffrey Pryor is CEO of Pathfinder Solutions, a nonprofit research and advisory group serving civil society organizations.
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COMMENTS
BY Alexandra Mitchell
ON January 4, 2012 07:55 PM
Someone said they have been hearing for some time that EDs where leaving the field, but that they hadn’t seen the exodus, and asked what the current projections are. Here is our take - the economy has tanked, but, unfortunately, we don’t stop aging. This comes from the Meyer Foundation national study:
Daring to Lead is a signature initiative of the Meyer Foundation and CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. For more than a decade, Meyer and CompassPoint have worked in partnership to learn more about the tenure, career paths, and professional development challenges of nonprofit executive directors—and to spark national conversation about the importance of supporting and sustaining leaders. This work is grounded in our two organizations’ shared belief that strong executive leadership is critical to organizational effectiveness.
The two previous studies in the series, released in 2001 and 2006, found that three-quarters of executives planned to leave their jobs within the next five years and that finance, fundraising, and weak boards contributed to burnout and turnover. The most recent study, Daring to Lead 2011, was conducted in the aftermath of a deep recession that continues to have a profound impact on nonprofits and their leaders.
More than 3,000 executive directors in 11 regions throughout the U.S. completed the online survey for Daring to Lead 2011, making it the largest study of executive directors conducted to date. The survey asked executives about their career paths, likely tenure, partnership with the board of directors, and the impact of the recession on their organizations. To supplement the survey, 70 executives participated in focus groups in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
The percentage of respondents who said they were leaving their job within five years—67%—was somewhat lower than the 75% who said they planned to leave within five years in both previous studies, with executives’ responses suggesting that the recession may have temporarily slowed executive departures. Nevertheless, a large majority of respondents continue to anticipate their departure within five years, making executive turnover and transition an ongoing concern for nonprofits, their boards, and other stakeholders.
BY Barbara R Kazdan
ON January 5, 2012 08:50 AM
I’m convinced that many people of all ages ( the rising generation, the mid-career “is that all their is” corporate/public sector professionals and retiring Boomers) are eager to turn their talents toward something meaningful. That “something” is found in abundance in the non-profit sector. I join Pathfinder Solutions and other like-minded non-profit leaders in providing the training/knowhow these civic-minded people need to apply their talents to entrenched social issues. There ARE solutions and there ARE people with the desire and talent to make them happen. Those of us who know how to work effectively in the social sector can provide a bridge.
BY Josh Hannes
ON January 7, 2012 10:05 PM
Clearly, this is an important issue and I think your LANO report is very clear in showing where the sector needs to make improvements. The 7 approaches listed at the end of the article are very good and, in particular, I think establishing dialogue with schools and increasing organizational capacity of nonprofits will be critical. In other words, I completely agree that talent needs to be driven toward the sector, then those organizations must continue to develop and nurture that talent. As the report points out, to attract talent to the sector people must have a better understanding of what the work looks like.
I think it is obvious that many NPO’s are not operating in a way that maximizes impact, but they may not see the connection between investment in talent development and the long-term impact on mission. Consequently, it seems your goal to “Identify and promote measurable metrics…” has the potential to be very powerful as organizations may see for the first time a way to make improvements.
While conducting research on this topic I came across an article that suggested charitable foundations should seek to become more like venture capitalist firms. The reason
being that V.C firms partner with their companies to help guide strategy and develop management practices. Working with foundations to convince them they have the power to improve impact at the organizations they fund may be a way to help improve organizational capacity of NPO’s.
Another thing I noticed in my research is that NPO talent recruitment suffers because organizations do not have a clear picture of their needs and therefore recruit poorly. Your goal to improve internal workings of NPO’s may include something like this…helping the agency more clearly define the kind of leaders and talent they need to move forward.
BY Simone N. Sneed
ON January 17, 2012 09:14 AM
This article is rather timely. Having worked with two established non-profits as they underwent leadership transitions I can say that non-profit talent development is indeed, for lack of a better word, underdeveloped. I think that one of the key reason’s non-profit’s aren’t focused on developing talent and why many young people don’t see non-profit careers as their top choice is the way in which we describe the non-profit sector and the desirable skills we associate with people who lead non-profits.
I work in this sector for two reasons, my intense desire to shift our society to one that is not only more equitable but more just and secondly because of my deep appreciation of strategy. I know many young people in my sector who like myself are concerned about the state of our sector and see now as the time for innovation.
I’m keeping my hopes up for not only leadership development, but leadership recognition.
BY Debbie Fowler
ON January 22, 2012 03:36 PM
Many high schools now require community service hours for students to graduate. Young people are not always aware of why service organizations exist and what an impact one person can have. They may not know that there are people already working towards solutions to problems that they may have heard of, but don’t realize that they can make a difference. Taking the time to connect with schools and fostering relationships that will allow for students to spend a few hours each week over a semester or an entire year or more, will go a long way in exposing them to alternatives to the standard corporate fast-track.
The talent pool is out there. For NPO’s to thrive and weather a transition in leadership, it will be vitally important to attract and make connections with the enthusiasm and drive of youth. As long as NPO’s can be portrayed as vital and welcoming, they will be able to attract the talent pool that can continue their cause.