LEADERSHIP FOR GOOD™

You gave me hope!
 Sister Donna Liette, C.PP.S., Executive Director, Mercy Manor

Leading nonprofits is hard work. A CompassPoint study found this in a median executive-director tenure of four years or fewer and the 65 percent who are “once-is-enough” first-timers in the job. According to the study, executive directors “enjoy their jobs as a means of addressing important community needs (mission) but don’t want to do it again because of the high stress involved (burnout).”

Though many experts bemoan the state of the field, there is much to celebrate when it comes to leading nonprofits. The CompassPoint study found that most executives take the job because of the “mission of their agencies as well as their own desire to help others and to give back to their communities.” Furthermore, almost all experience a high level of enjoyment in their work. Executive directors are not alone. In his study of 1,140 nonprofit employees, Paul Light found that nonprofit employees are “highly motivated, hard working, and deeply committed [and are] motivated primarily by the chance to accomplish something worthwhile.” No wonder he found that only 16 percent of the nonprofit workforce are motivated by the paycheck compared to nearly half of those who work in the private sector.

First Light provides highly personalized leadership development services to strengthen the capacity of these executives to deliver the results that change the world. Executive coaching helps leaders navigate the complexities of the top office and often begins with 360-degree assessment using state-of-field tools. Operational coaching assists executives with specific issues like fundraising, capacity building, and compensation analysis.

Charles Handy writes, “In our hearts, we would all like to find a purpose bigger than ourselves because that will raise us to heights that we had not dreamed of.” Where better to find it than the nonprofit sector? And where better than First Light to find leadership services that comes from "been there - got the t-shirt" seasoned executives?