It Takes a Courageous Leader to Invest in Leadership Development

Leadership Matters (2013) was because we saw a lack of emphasis on leadership training and development across the museum sector at a moment when museums needed more skilled, nuanced leadership. Also in 2013, McKinsey & Co. published the report, "What Social-Sector Leaders Need to Succeed," noting "...chronic under-investment in leadership development within the U.S. social sector, accompanied by 25-percent growth in the number of nonprofit organizations in the past decade, has opened a gap between demands on leaders and their ability to meet those needs." Notice we're not talking about numbers, we're talking about skills and abilities of those already in leadership roles. Thankfully, the nonprofit "leadership deficit," as it is known, is receiving a lot more attention. But finding solutions to addressing it remain elusive. This is due, in large part, I think, to a general misunderstanding that training leaders requires, first and foremost, time-consuming and expensive education. Many cultural nonprofits simply don't have the financial resources or the bench strength to invest in it. And many funders don't fund it, even though they may talk a good game about the importance of institutional capacity building (despite the fact that at the heart of an organization's capacity is its leadership). Excuses, however, mask a deeper issue: leadership training and development at any level is generally not seen as an investment in the health of the institution, either by board or staff leadership. The fact is, as Laura Otten of the Nonprofit Center at LaSalle University underscores, leadership training and development is an investment that "...won't produce an immediate impact on mission fulfillment but will, down the road, produce a very big bang. To invest any amount in leadership development demands using money currently in hand, or asking for money not for mission-related programs but for investing in the future ability to do an even better job at deliver on mission promises." Investment in "leadership development takes courage but is the best investment a nonprofit can make," advises James W. Shepard in his Stanford Social Innovation Review article, "Leadership Development: Five Things Nonprofits Should Know." Got that? So, here's the good news: the 70-20-10 model -- a researched best practice that isn't practiced much or enough. This practice allows nonprofits to make big leadership development improvements for FREE. The caveat, as so many things in nonprofit life, is commitment. The model suggests an institution steers 70-percent of its leadership development commitment toward devising challenging stretch assignments aimed at building leadership skills and knowledge; 20-percent of its commitment to structured and focused mentoring; and -- get this -- just 10-percent of its commitment to paying for coursework and training.  That's right. If you see the need, understand the long-term value, and are willing to implement an in-house plan to develop leadership -- even for yourself -- you will move your organization far forward. All it takes is courage and commitment. You in? How will you embrace the 70-20-10 model at your institution? With the leadership development of your team? With your own leadership development? Anne W. Ackerson Image: Center for Creative Leadership (great source of leadership development information, BTW)