New Leadership for a New Nonprofit Sector: Four Kinds of Leaders We Need Now

This is the first post in a series exploring new leadership for a new nonprofit sector. Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss future articles!

“The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.” - Albert Einstein

Here is a video clip of me giving the closing keynote at the Illinois Nonprofit Conference this year.

You probably know that over the past few years, I’ve been traveling around the country speaking, teaching and sharing ideas about nonprofit leadership, diversity, career development and social media. What you may not know is that the underlying question in all of my work has been this:

How can we empower a new generation of leaders to effect social change?

Now when I say “a new generation of leaders,” I don’t necessarily mean young people. Although supporting the leadership of Generation Y is critical to the future of the nonprofit sector, I’m really talking about ushering in a new way of doing the work.

I’m not so much interested in “thinking outside the box” (ugh, what a cliché) as I am in smashing the damn box altogether and exploring new ways of not just doing but being as well. New ways of thinking that allow us to put it all on the line and use our gifts to do the very work we have been called to do. How can we redefine the concept of nonprofit leadership to invite and encourage everyone to lead?

So, out of my conversations with nonprofit professionals across the country, I’ve developed what I hope is a simple, accessible framework for thinking more deeply about new leadership for a new nonprofit sector. What kinds of nonprofit leaders do we need now in order to effect social change? Real social change?

Four Kinds of Nonprofit Leaders We Need Now

1. True Believers
2. Ruthless Innovators
3. Ambassadors of Diversity
4. Courageous Advocates

If you’ve been around the blog for awhile, you’ve probably guessed the punchline by now. I believe that we already have these kinds of leaders in our midst, but that we just need to do more to support and engage them more fully in the work.

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How do these ideas resonate with you? Please let me know in the comments!

I hope you’ll join me as I explore the characteristics of these four kinds of leaders on the blog (plus how we can support them). Stay tuned for the next post about True Believers and be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss out on any of the posts in the series!

You can find the rest of the articles in this series here: New Leadership for a New Nonprofit Sector.