Alliance for Children and FamiliesLeadership Deficit Presented by: Undraye P. Howard, M.A.

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

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Generic Observations on Talent and LeadershipQuality and depth of leadership drives results that a non-profit can deliverThere is difficulty in recruiting quality talent for the non-profit sectorThere 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 thisRecruit independently (a great deal of NPOs do this online and through personal networking).Costly and time intensiveExecutive SearchWrong fit and costly *

Reality isThere 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 careermobility for current managers/natural turnover of current managers out offull time leadership roles)

Source: The non-profit Sectors Leadership Deficit, Tom Tierney, 2006*

Solutions the Alliance has Recognized Increased access to networks of quality candidates outside of the traditional forms of recruitingInvest in current staff and talentConsistent knowledge and understanding of best practices in recruiting and hiringMore internal resources available to manage searches for senior leaders*

Alliance Deals with Leadership DeficitRecruitment PracticesRetention and Development PracticesBoth Recruitment and Retention Development strategies play a role in dealing with the leadership deficit

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Alliances Recruitment Strategies in Addressing the Leadership Deficit (internal/external)Continuous investment in our leadersExecutive Leadership InstituteLeadership Development WorkshopsUniversity Collaboration (Bellevue University) Relationship Building and Sharing

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Recruitment (internal and external)Making a bridge between the for-profit and non-profit worldSpecial 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 newslettersStrong 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 beyondLeadership and Management Tracks*

Partnership ExampleAn 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 IIWe 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 IIIWe will test market the model program, and conceptualize and budget a broader piloting effort to implement the model.

Anticipated OutcomesA 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 basisLeadership Council (participative leadership)Assignment of special projects for new leadership Succession Planning

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Seven Steps ofSuccession Planning Assessment of Current OperationsKey Leadership Priorities / MilestonesInternal Management AnalysisLeadership Profile RequirementsSuccession ScenariosCreation and Adoption of Guidelines and ProceduresThe Cost of Succession Planning and Leadership Transition*

STEP #1 - Assessment of Current Operations (Three-year Retrospective)GovernanceFinance & AdministrationFundraising & External RelationsPrograms & ServicesHuman ResourcesQuality Control/Compliance/Risk ManagementStrategic Plan/Business Plan

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STEP #2 - Key Leadership Priorities/MilestonesNext 12 months

12-24 months

Beyond 24 months*

STEP # 3 - Internal Management AnalysisKey Persons Identification

Functional Job Assessments

Capacity Appraisal

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STEP # 4 - Leadership Profile RequirementsContent Knowledge and Training

Functional Skills and Abilities

Personal Attributes & Behaviors

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STEP # 5 - Succession ScenariosPlannedUnplannedExtended AbsencePermanent Departure

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STEP # 6 - Creation and Adoption of Guidelines and ProceduresLeadership Succession PlanBoard Policies, Guidelines & ProceduresThree Major ComponentsBoard Adopted PoliciesBoard Chair & Executive Committee GuidelinesScenario Procedures & Processes

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STEP # 7 - The Cost of Succession Planning & Leadership TransitionEstablishing 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 opportunitiesWebinars and teleconferences that feature key content and knowledge about strategies and goals that are workingSpecialized 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 Xs, and Millennial with Baby Boomers in transferring and sharing of info.A greater sharing of resources amongst NPOsSensible 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 ServicesAlliance for Children and Families 11700 West Lake Park DriveMilwaukee WI 53224-3099414-359-1040, ext. 3618uhoward@alliance1.iorg *

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