Nonprofit organizations are vital to our society. Whether they’re focused on advocating for a cause or providing much-needed services, these organizations make our world a better place.
A nonprofit’s board of directors plays a critical role in ensuring the organization is well-positioned to achieve its mission and goals. Nonprofit directors must have the right leadership skills to excel in their roles and steer their organizations in the right direction.
Recently, Dr. Emilie Socash, founder of the Nonprofit Help Center, joined us to discuss the different leadership styles crucial for effective board governance and how directors can evaluate and enhance their own leadership performance. She covered:
- How to identify and understand key leadership styles
- Practical tools and methodologies for conducting self-evaluations around board-focused leadership practices and behavior
- Strategies to enhance collaboration between board members and executive leadership
Here, we share key takeaways from this session.
Nonprofit Board Leadership Matters
Dr. Socash defined leadership as, “Influencing people to accomplish a common goal.” But does nonprofit board leadership really matter?
Today, 37% of nonprofits may be looking to their board to help them navigate and fill gaps related to staffing capacity. Furthermore, 30% of nonprofits indicate their top challenge is recruiting and retention – both on the staff and board level.
“Nonprofit leadership in terms of the people side of things is incredibly important, said Dr. Socash.
She also shared some compelling employment and economic factors that point to the importance of strong nonprofit board leadership. Nonprofits’ share of total GDP across the United States is 10%. In addition, one in 10 Americans of working age are employed by a nonprofit.
“Our board members are leading a total of 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States alone, and these nonprofits represent $2.62 trillion in total revenue each year,” said Dr. Socash. “To put it shortly, your leadership matters.”
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There are Many Different Leadership Styles
There are countless leadership styles. For the purposes of this webinar, Dr. Socash zeroed in on four.
But which of the four is the best style of a nonprofit director? There’s no easy answer. There are pros and cons to each leadership approach, and it’s important to identify which is the best style for your organization and the specific scenario.
1. Democratic Leadership
Democratic leadership is a collaborative style that promotes creativity and builds trust. A democratic leader guides the process, but only to discover “the voice of the people.” According to Dr. Socash, democratic leadership is best for encouraging creativity, working with younger team members, and engaging experts.
However, democratic leadership often leads to slower decision-making and can cause communication failures.
2. Strategic Leadership
Strategic leadership is objective and challenges the status quo. Strategic leaders typically like order, control, and planning. Per Dr. Socash, strategic leadership is great for evaluating new initiatives, developing and monitoring plans, and when matters are timely.
However, there are downsides to this approach. Strategic leadership is often inflexible and expensive, and focusing on the future can be distracting.
3. Coach-Style Leadership
Coach-style leaders are collaborative, interested in others’ progress and experiences, comfortable with feedback, and focused on building trust and empathy. Coach-style leaders draw out the strengths of others and encourage personal growth. “It’s less about giving orders or blowing the whistle from the sidelines and more about nurturing the development of those around you,” said Dr. Socash.
She went on to explain that coach-style leadership is great for subsets of teams and committees, when decisions are not pressing. It’s also a great leadership style for building long-term relationships.
However, coach-style leadership is time-intensive and it’s hard to do well. If it’s done poorly, it can negatively impact progress.
4. Transformational Leadership
Transformational leaders create a strong, clear, compelling vision that is shared with others. According to Dr. Socash, transformational leaders do 3 things. They:
- Articulate positively about the vision
- Communicate in a fashion that details what success looks like
- Actively encourage input and dialog from the other team
Transformational leadership is great for big-picture initiatives where vision can be rallied, as well as clearly connecting the organization’s goals with the individuals goals.
Of course, there are cons to transformational leadership. This approach prioritizes long-term over short-term, and there’s significant potential for burnout.
Self-Evaluations are Essential
Implementing board leadership assessments is very important. According to Dr. Socash, these assessments “require us to turn the mirror on ourselves.”
This seems simple enough. However, there’s often a disconnect between a director’s leadership style in use and their espoused style. The style in use is the actual leadership style, while the espoused style is how we think we show up in leadership roles.
“It is hard to honestly evaluate what our leadership style in use is, while it’s typically easy to determine what we hope to be as leaders,” said Dr. Socash. “When we discover our leadership style accurately, it’s important.”
There are 4 ways to evaluate your leadership style, and the methods work well together.
- Assessment: Complete an online or in-person assessment. “This is a good means of getting your thinking started,” said Dr. Socash.
- Self-observation: Consider attributes of leadership styles and which are most active in your approach.
- Feedback: Ask others what they see in you.
- Sandbox: Experiment with different leadership styles
Interpreting Self-Evaluations is Foundational for Enhancing Leadership Performance
According to Dr. Socash, interpreting self-evaluations helps you understand “how your natural leadership style aligns with what the organization needs.”
By interpreting your self-evaluation, you can identify personal leadership gaps. You’ll understand how your natural style aligns with organizational needs and where there are opportunities to adapt and flex.
Then, you can develop an improvement plan. Identify one or two leadership attributes to focus on, and be sure to determine how you’ll measure improvement.
Nonprofit Leaders Must be Agile
You may have a clear picture of your leadership style. However, nonprofit directors often have to adapt their approach – and quickly.
“Many times we are called upon to adapt our leadership approach in the moment,” said Dr. Socash.
When this happens, boards can take 4 actions:
- Anticipation: The process of sensing and making meaning of an ambiguous and rapidly changing reality. “It’s all about expecting the unexpected,” said Dr. Socash.
- Articulation: The way we communicate our anticipation. “Within the board’s work, this is articulating the nonprofit’s need in a way that resonates with others,” Dr. Socash explained.
- Adaptation: The process of gathering feedback data and normalizing continuous learning. “It’s about adapting how we show up as leaders, as individuals, and as a group,” explained Dr. Socash. “It’s being open to doing things in a different way.”
- Accountability: The way we keep ourselves focused on who will accomplish what. “This is the aspect of our adaptive leadership actions that can maximize our transparency and keep everyone focused on who will do what, by when,” said Dr. Socash.
It’s Time to Take Action
Now’s the time to take an honest look at your own leadership style – and determine where there are opportunities to make improvements to maximize your effectiveness. But where can you start?
Dr. Socash provided 2 tips for taking action.
1. Try one new thing
It can be tempting to take on a lot. But even taking a single step can get you in the right direction.
Create a leadership scorecard for use during meetings, and track your leadership moments. Review agenda items in advance and categorize according to the most suitable leadership style.
Remember to trust your intuition. “Your intuition is typically your inner leader speaking,” explained Dr. Socash.
2. Share with a trusted peer
Connect with another board member to share feedback. Typically, it’s best to avoid open-ended questions. Or, ask your executive or chair where they see your leadership gaps.
Are you looking for tips and tricks to improve the way you create board meeting agendas? Then save your spot for “The Ideal Board Meeting Agenda,” featuring Erik Hanberg, author of “The Little Book of Boards. “
About The Author
- Gina Guy is an implementation consultant who specializes in working with nonprofit organizations get the most from their board meetings. She loves helping customers ease their workloads through their use of OnBoard. A Purdue University graduate, Gina enjoys refinishing furniture, running, kayaking, and traveling in her spare time. She lives in Monticello, Indiana, with her husband.
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