Last week an article in Third Sector about leadership caught my eye. In it Geraldine Kilbride, a business psychologist and leadership behaviour specialist from London Business School, warned charities that their leadership is a decade behind the private sector. Unsurprisingly, the piece has provoked a strong reaction from charity professionals.
Having worked in the charity, private and public sectors, I have seen examples of good and bad leadership in all three. Often these instances have more in common than you might think. The best leaders have a vision and the courage and energy to make it happen. For me, this highlights how the differences between the sectors on this front aren’t cut and dried. I think there is much that all sectors can learn from each other about leadership. Some of the most innovative organisations working in the charity world know this and are skilled at bringing people together to share best practice. Strategy consultancy I.G. Advisors and leadership development non-profit Common Purpose are both doing some great work in this area.
But the charity sector does have one very significant difference from the corporate world, which the comments on the Third Sector piece alluded to. There are charities who are uncomfortable with the term ‘leadership.’ I’m not really sure why this is. Perhaps it is seen as redolent of the private sector, or indicative of a hierarchy that may not sit well with the egalitarian and consultative nature of charities. Personally I would really like the sector to discuss leadership issues in more depth, and I hope that Third Sector’s article has kickstarted the debate. What does good charity leadership look like? How can we do it better? What qualities do boards and leadership teams need to steer the sector through the significant challenges it currently faces? Incidentally, The Guardian Voluntary Sector Network held an online Q and A on leadership last month which touched on these issues.
Of course, leadership doesn’t just belong to the most senior person in the room. Last week Kirsty Marrins challenged Macmillan, the RNLI and Mencap to put their organisations’ Harlem Shake meme videos to the public vote. The #CharityShakeOff (as covered on UK Fundraising) has had a good response on Twitter, so much so that the WWF and Beat Blood Cancer have now joined the contest too. Kirsty spotted a great opportunity and brought the right people together to make it happen, and all of these charities will benefit from the money raised as a result. Her spark of an idea has become something much bigger. That’s good leadership. It’s innovative approaches like this that will take the sector forward through the tough times we’re in.
Isn’t it time we talked more about charity leadership?