How visionary nonprofits leaders are learning to enhance management capabilities

Abstract

Purpose

Whereas the strength of most for‐profit enterprises is their management practice, a Bridgespan survey showed that non‐profits are best in visionary leadership, but often significantly under‐managed. This paper aims to describe how a few charismatic leaders recognize the crucial importance of improving their management capabilities so the organization will deliver great results over time.

Design/methodology/approach

Examples of five leading non‐profits are presented to show how management strengths can be added.

Findings

Key points learned by successful non‐profits are: understand the tension between leadership and management; get strategic clarity to make it easier to see how to achieve the desired impact by setting priorities, establishing performance measures, and making tradeoffs; anchor strategic clarity in a few key metrics, to keep everyone focused; build and align the team; and actively manage the change process.

Practical implications

Implementing this agenda in the context of nonprofit leadership is difficult. A framework is offered that illustrates the shift that many non‐profits need to work through in order to become a high performing organization.

Originality/value

When asked, non‐profit leaders profess that visionary leadership (with a compelling case for a cause) drives fundraising and recruitment of volunteers. But their management to deliver long‐term results is not as strong. Organizations must find a balance, with the goal of becoming both strongly led and strongly managed.

Citation

Stid, D. and Bradach, J. (2009), "How visionary nonprofits leaders are learning to enhance management capabilities", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 35-40. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878570910926052