Chapter 5 from "Nonprofit Management," Third Edition by Michael J. Worth, https://secure.sagepub.com/protected/worth3e/icfr/intro.htm

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Chapter 5: ExecutiveChapter 5: Executive
LeadershipLeadership

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CEO ResponsibilitiesCEO Responsibilities
• Commit to the mission
• Lead the staff and manage the organization
• Exercise responsible financial stewardship
• Lead and manage fund-raising
• Follow the highest ethical standards, ensure
accountability, and comply with the law
• Engage the board in planning and lead implementation
• Develop future leadership
• Build external relationships and serve as an advocate
• Ensure the quality and effectiveness of programs
• Support the board
Source: Board Source, 2006

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Observations About CEOObservations About CEO
ResponsibilitiesResponsibilities
• Significant overlap between CEO responsibilities and
governing board responsibilities
• Mission, financial stewardship, fund-raising,
accountability, planning, performance standards,
and the work of the board itself
• CEO responsibilities involve both managing and
leading
• Management -- generally concerned with day-to-
day operations, emphasizing policies,
procedures, rules, and processes
• Leadership -- more about purpose, vision, and
direction: more about the “where” and “why”
rather than the “how”

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Managers and LeadersManagers and Leaders
Managers
• Concerned with mastering
routines
• Adopt impersonal or
passive attitudes toward
goals
• Excel in problem solving
and work design
• Work with people in
carefully controlled ways
• See themselves as
conservators or regulators
Leaders
• Concerned with vision and
judgment
• Active and visionary about
the future
• Seek out opportunities and
take risks
• Passionate about their
work and likely to cause
turbulence
• See themselves as agents
of change

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Leadership Theories: IntroductionLeadership Theories: Introduction
• Key questions
• Are leaders born or made?
• If they are made, what specific knowledge or
skills do individuals need to acquire in order to
be strong leaders?
• What are there specific behaviors that are
associated with effective leadership?
• Key caveats
• Most of the theories are generic (i.e., intended to
apply to all types of organizations, not just
nonprofits)
• There may be no one right theory of leadership
that is applicable in every situation, at all times

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Leadership Theories: OverviewLeadership Theories: Overview
• Trait theories -- emphasis on innate characteristics of leaders
• Skills theories -- emphasis on specific skills leaders possess
• Technical skills – knowledge of the job/profession/task
• Human skills – ability to work with people
• Conceptual skills – ability to understand ideas and
principles
• Behavior theories -- emphasis on behavior or actions
• Task behaviors – actions that relate to the work to be
done
• Relationship behaviors – actions that focus on the feelings
of subordinates
• Managerial grid (Blake and Mouton, 1985)
• Contingency theories -- emphasis on the situation
• Servant leadership -- emphasis on values and commitment

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Transformational LeadershipTransformational Leadership
• Transactional leadership – rewards or punishment
exchanged for behaviors of others
• Transformational leadership -- inspiring and
empowering individuals to go beyond self-interest
and pursue goals that are in the common interest
• Emphasis on developing personal relationships
• Appealing to shared values and ideals
• Transactional versus transformational leadership
(Burns, 1978)
• Transformational leaders use transactional
techniques, but should not overemphasize them
(Bass, 1985; Bass and Avolio, 1994)

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Charismatic LeadershipCharismatic Leadership
• A leader is someone who behaves in certain ways that cause
others to see him or her as charismatic
• Behaviors that cause others to see a person as charismatic
(Rainey, 2003)
• Advocates a vision that is different from the status quo
but still acceptable to followers
• Acts in unconventional ways in pursuit of the vision
• Engages in self-sacrifice and risk taking in pursuit of the
vision
• Displays confidence in his or her own ideas and proposals
• Uses visioning and persuasive appeals to influence
followers, rather than relying mainly on formal authority
• Uses the capacity to assess context and locate
opportunities for novel strategies
• Need for social distance (Fisher, 1984)

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Effective Nonprofit CEOEffective Nonprofit CEO
BehaviorsBehaviors
• Focus on mission
• Focus on the board
• Focus on external relationships
• Share leadership and empower others
• Focus on key roles and priorities
• Use the “political frame”
• Right person, right place, right time
• Alignment model (Dym & Hutson, 2005)
• Founder syndrome and life-cycle theories
• Executive transitions and leading change

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Right Person, Right Place, Right TimeRight Person, Right Place, Right Time
Alignment Model
• Seeks to integrate the major leadership theories
• The leader’s fit with the organization involves traits,
skills, leadership style and situation
• Alignment must be achieved between the leader, the
organization, and the community
Founder Syndrome
• Organization’s need for leadership may change over
time due to nature of nonprofit life-cycle theories
• Can pose challenge and even crisis for a nonprofit
Executive Transitions
• Preparation should take place before a transition is
needed
• Viable plan and procedure to be proactive vs. reactive

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Leading ChangeLeading Change
Eight-step change process to ensure momentum and
provide for real and permanent change:
1.Establish a sense of urgency
2.Create a guiding coalition
3.Develop a vision and strategy
4.Communicate the change vision
5.Empower broad-based action
6.Generate short-term wins
7.Consolidate gains and produce more change
8.Anchor new approaches in the culture
(Kotter 1996)