C06 Session: Daring to Lead

Daring to Lead: Deepening Our Understanding of Nonprofit Executives

Thursday, August 3, 11:00am - 12:30pm

Track:  Leadership and Governance

Presenters

Jeanne Bell, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services; Rick Moyers, Meyer Foundation

Description

Building on the success of the report "Daring to Lead," that summarized the results of a national survey of nonprofit executives in 2001, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and the Meyer Foundation conducted a follow-up survey in 2005. The survey results provide new insight on the factors that contribute to executive burnout and turnover.  The session will explore how capacity builders and grantmakers can better support current executives and develop the next generation of nonprofit leaders.

Presented by report co-authors Rick Moyers and Jeanne Bell, the session will focus on findings from a national survey of more than 1,900 nonprofit executives. A PowerPoint and handout will guide participants through the findings' key themes, including:

• Career Path: What professional background, including for-profit and public sector experience, do nonprofit executives bring to their work?
• Effectiveness: How do executives assess their own effectiveness? Which skills do they most need to build?
• Management Teams: What are the characteristics of nonprofit management teams and how effectively are they partnering with executives?
• Boards: How do executives describe their partnership with the board of directors? Which skills do they want their boards to build?
• Professional Development: To what extent are executives availing themselves of the variety of leadership and professional development services in the marketplace, including executive coaching?
• Succession: How long do executives intend to stay on the job? Where do they want to go next? Are their organizations and boards prepared for succession?
• Future Leaders: Are executives developing the next cohort of nonprofit leaders?
• Financial Sacrifice: To what extent do executives perceive themselves as having made a financial sacrifice to do this work? Are they financially prepared for retirement?

Findings will be presented for sub-groups of the executive population such as founders, long-time executives, young executives, and executives of color.

After the presentation of findings and a general question and answer session, participants will have small group discussions at their tables about the implications of the research for key players in the nonprofit infrastructure: consultants and coaches, grantmakers, and researchers.

About the Presenters

Jeanne Bell, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services

Jeanne Bell, MNA is Chief Operating Officer and a Senior Projects Director at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services--a leading provider of training and consulting services to nonprofits and philanthropy. She is the co-author of "Financial Leadership for Nonprofit Executives: Guiding Your Organization to Long Term Success" (Wilder). In addition to speaking and consulting on nonprofit finance and strategy, Jeanne has conducted research on such topics as nonprofit staff recruitment and retention and executive leadership. Her recent CompassPoint publications include "Flying Blind: The Impact of the CRECNO Initiative on California Philanthropy" and "Securing the Safety Net: A Profile of Community Clinic and Health Center Leadership in California." Jeanne is also on the Advisory Boards of the Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management at the University of San Francisco and The Nonprofit Quarterly.

Rick Moyers, The Meyer Foundation

Richard L. Moyers is program officer for the Meyer Foundation’s Nonprofit Sector Fund, which includes a management assistance program for grantees, support for broad efforts to strengthen the nonprofit sector, and a cash flow loan program.

Prior to joining the Meyer Foundation in November 2003, Rick was executive director of the Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations (OANO), a statewide coalition of more than 650 nonprofits which provided leadership, education, and advocacy to strengthen Ohio’s nonprofit sector. Before joining OANO in 1999, Rick spent seven years at BoardSource (formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards), concluding his tenure as vice president for programs and services.

Rick has served on the boards of Imagination Stage and the Support Center of Washington, and as a committee member for Independent Sector, United Way of Central Ohio, the First Nonprofit Unemployment Savings Program, and the Washington office of the Foundation Center. He is a frequent speaker and trainer on nonprofit management and leadership issues, and has written for The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Times. He is the author of The Nonprofit Chief Executive's Ten Basic Responsibilities, published by BoardSource in 2005, and was the co-author of A Snapshot of America’s Nonprofit Boards, the first national nonprofit governance survey, and of Daring to Lead 2006, the report on a national survey of executive directors conducted in partnership with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services.