Alliance for Children and Families ‘Leadership Deficit’

Alliance for Children and Families‘Leadership Deficit’ Presented by: Undraye P. Howard, M.A.

Outline • General observations about the future in dealing with the leadership deficit • Non-profit organizations and the leadership deficit • The Alliance for Children and Families strategies in dealing with the leadership deficit

Generic Observations on Talent and Leadership • Quality and depth of leadership drives results that a non-profit can deliver • There is difficulty in recruiting quality talent for the non-profit sector • There is and will continue to be a demand for quality leadership talent, particularly in the roles of: • CEO, COO, CFO and other key senior leadership positions

Inadequacy Among Top-Tier Non-profit Strategy • Develop internally (ad-hoc internal training and attending conferences. • Quality uneven and inconsistent/smaller agencies cannot do this • Recruit independently (a great deal of NPO’s do this online and through personal networking). • Costly and time intensive • Executive Search • Wrong fit and costly

Reality is… • There is an enormous demand (over the next 10 years the sector is expected to attract and develop some 640,000 new senior managers/growing number of non-profits/growth in size of non-profits) • Constrained Supply (retirement of managers from baby-boomer generation/lack of career mobility for current managers/natural turnover of current managers out of full time leadership roles) Source: “The non-profit Sector’s Leadership Deficit”, Tom Tierney, 2006

Solutions the Alliance has Recognized • Increased access to networks of quality candidates outside of the traditional forms of recruiting • Invest in current staff and talent • Consistent knowledge and understanding of best practices in recruiting and hiring • More internal resources available to manage searches for senior leaders

Alliance Deals with Leadership Deficit • Recruitment Practices • Retention and Development Practices • Both Recruitment and Retention Development strategies play a role in dealing with the leadership deficit

Alliance’s Recruitment Strategies in Addressing the Leadership Deficit (internal/external) • Continuous investment in our leaders • Executive Leadership Institute • Leadership Development Workshops • University Collaboration (Bellevue University) • Relationship Building and Sharing

Recruitment (internal and external) • Making a bridge between the for-profit and non-profit world • Special Relationship Building (Bridgestar/Bridgespan, executive search firms with a focus on non-profit environment • Eliminate the myths about non-profits through a series of publications and newsletters • Strong advocacy and public policy initiative • Accreditation • Scenario Planning • Making it a goal to become a “best place to work” organization through competitive benefits, flexible culture • Becoming more cognizant of inter-generational differences

Executive Leadership Institute • A partnership between the Alliance and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. • The vision here is to expand the pool of senior-level managers, leaders, and executives prepared and equipped to lead the non-profits of today and beyond • Leadership and Management Tracks

Partnership Example An innovative pilot program between Public Allies and the Alliance being conducted at several of our member organizations to attract diverse, young talent to work in the nonprofit social and human services field.

Initiative What does it take to recruit and retain the best people? What attitudes and systems need to change in order to make this happen?

Goal The goal of the project is to create and/or strengthen multiple pathways into non-profit human services careers for young people who have an interest or potential passion for the work these agencies do. Through a partnership approach between Public Allies and the Alliance three phases will be implemented over a 12-month period to accomplish this.

Assessment Activity The appointment of a project director to coordinate and implement project work. The creation of a 12-member Advisory Committee to guide this effort.. Personal interviews with 32 Alliance member agencies to identify current pathways into human service employment and discover elements of the cultural gap between current providers and young people. Focus group discussions with young people – including high school and college graduates – to identify key indicators for capturing the attention of and motivating such individuals to consider careers in nonprofit human services. Evaluation of recent research on the career and service aspirations of young adults.

Assessment Activity An assessment of the best practices of other national organizations (including AmeriCorps, Teach America, City Year, Public Allies, Idealist) to identify factors critical to the success of marketing and recruitment activities aimed at younger individuals considering careers in the nonprofit sector.

Phase II We will focus on the development of the model program, including the creation of sector descriptors and formation of the marketing, recruitment and placement strategies.

Phase III We willtest market the model program, and conceptualize and budget a broader piloting effort to implement the model.

Anticipated Outcomes A clear understanding will be obtained of the barriers and opportunities to recruiting young people to nonprofit human service careers, as well as what child and family agencies must do to be more attractive magnets for young adults interested in nonprofit careers. A clear, succinct description of the nonprofit child and family-serving workforce will be developed. This will include descriptors not only of the depth and breadth of human service career opportunities, but also of the staff employed there, as well as the individuals, families and communities they serve.

Anticipated Outcomes Multiple pathways into nonprofit human service careers will be identified and assessed for their effectiveness. A model program, including marketing, recruitment, placement and human resource management strategies, will be created as a template to begin attracting young people into nonprofit human service careers. A plan to pilot the model program will be conceptualized and budgeted, and a funding proposal to underwrite this final phase will be developed.

Deliverables A written report detailing the results of personal interviews with Alliance member agencies. Contained within this report will be descriptions of human service career opportunities, staff employed there, and the individuals, families and communities nonprofits typically serve. The report will also include a sub-section summarizing the results of secondary research examining nonprofit workforce issues. A written summary of Focus Group results. This report will detail the barriers and opportunities to recruiting young people to nonprofit human service careers, as well as the suggestions participants made to child and family agencies to become attractive magnets for young adults interested in nonprofit careers

Deliverables An overview of Best Practices deployed by other organizations engaged in recruiting young people to nonprofit careers. This overview will multiple pathways into nonprofit human service careers, assessing those pathways for effectiveness. A template to begin attracting young people into nonprofit human service careers will be created for the field of nonprofit child and family services. This model program will include marketing, recruitment and placement.

Retention & Development Practices (internal/external) • Performance objectives are agreed upon and set in place • The Alliance has taken the stance that opportunities and growth for leadership must be nurtured on a continuous and consistent basis • Leadership Council (participative leadership) • Assignment of special projects for new leadership • Succession Planning

Seven Steps ofSuccession Planning • Assessment of Current Operations • Key Leadership Priorities / Milestones • Internal Management Analysis • Leadership Profile Requirements • Succession Scenarios • Creation and Adoption of Guidelines and Procedures • The Cost of Succession Planning and Leadership Transition

STEP #1 - Assessment of Current Operations(Three-year Retrospective) • Governance • Finance & Administration • Fundraising & External Relations • Programs & Services • Human Resources • Quality Control/Compliance/Risk Management • Strategic Plan/Business Plan

STEP #2 - Key Leadership Priorities/Milestones • Next 12 months • 12-24 months • Beyond 24 months

STEP # 3 - Internal Management Analysis • Key Persons Identification • Functional Job Assessments • Capacity Appraisal

STEP # 4 - Leadership Profile Requirements • Content Knowledge and Training • Functional Skills and Abilities • Personal Attributes & Behaviors

STEP # 5 - Succession Scenarios • Planned • Unplanned • Extended Absence • Permanent Departure

STEP # 6 - Creation and Adoption of Guidelines and Procedures • Leadership Succession Plan • Board Policies, Guidelines & Procedures • Three Major Components • Board – Adopted Policies • Board Chair & Executive Committee Guidelines • Scenario Procedures & Processes

STEP # 7 - The Cost of Succession Planning & Leadership Transition • Establishing a Viable Leadership Succession Plan • Leadership Training & Development • Interim Leader Expenses • Search & Selection Process • Human: Morale, Momentum, Slack

Discourse and Communication • Development of CFO and CEO portals and networking opportunities • Webinars and teleconferences that feature key content and knowledge about strategies and goals that are working • Specialized segmented meetings for organizations (complex structure meeting) • Conferences and networking

Other Thoughts • We need to invest in the Baby Boomer generation (potential consultants) • There has to be a greater connect between the generation X’s, and Millennial with Baby Boomers in transferring and sharing of info. • A greater sharing of resources amongst NPO’s • Sensible mergers and acquisitions • A bigger bridge needs to be built between the for-profit world and the non-profit environment

Undraye P. Howard, M.A. Director of Consultation and Leadership Services Alliance for Children and Families 11700 West Lake Park Drive Milwaukee WI 53224-3099 414-359-1040, ext. 3618 uhoward@alliance1.iorg

Alliance for Children and Families ‘Leadership Deficit’