Leadership in Non-Profit Organization

Introduction

Leadership is one of the most discussed, examined, and yet elusive ideas in the social sciences in general and educational leadership in particular (Dotlich & Cairo, 85). In spite of the innumerable definitions of leadership and claims made about it, we continue to seek greater understanding in both theory and practice. The history of leadership thought is itself a complicated and treacherous journey that has implications not only for how we understand the meaning of leadership but also for what definitions and claims about leadership are regarded as appropriate, valued, and honored. Public sector organizations are varied in service provided and vary in monetary value.

In the public sector, programs such as Medicaid, Child Support Enforcement and Drivers Services are offered. These programs are administered by the government, and public funds such as tax dollars are used to fund the resources of the program. Because most public services are offered at no charge and are non-profit, they must have policies and eligibility factors placed to determine what qualifies a person or family for a program. Public leaders such as governors and legislators are responsible for setting these policies and procedures. Private sector organizations such as Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance offer their services for a fee. Consumers have eligibility requirements and the types of services they receive are based on how much the consumer wants to pay for each service. This paper will comprehensively discuss the leadership in a nonprofit organization, leadership in public and private sector, bad and good leadership and how leadership is applied in the public sector.

Discussion

Leadership Definitions

Many different definitions of leadership have been proposed, and all promote different approaches to the study of leadership: assessing the person, assessing the situation, or assessing both person and situation. Kroner & Rundall noted that leadership theories have evolved through four stages; however, the focus of this study was on (universal) behavioral and contingency theories (Pg. 15). Both these theories hold that effective leadership can be learned, as opposed to being strictly innate. This focus was salient, as it facilitated the proposal of a leadership development program for virtual communities of nonprofit organizations. However, (universal) behavioral theory has fallen out of favor among leadership researchers, and contingency theory seems to be preferred. Effective leaders in a virtual environment must play multiple roles as director, listener, recipient, and collaborator, and one set of leadership behaviors might not satisfy them all.

Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations

According to Sashkin, nonprofit organizations would benefit by selecting leaders with the appropriate behavioral skills. These skills, stated Sashkin (1987), include focusing attention on issues, skillfully communicating, consistent, trustworthy, and empathetic. Sashkin (1992) emphasized that supervisory management, and leadership are deeply related and it is unusual to find a good manager who does not have strong leadership skills. Sashkin (1992) added that the best managers develop leadership skills and abilities through the practice of good management (Pp. 66-72).

Leaders with the appropriate behavioral skills are essential to the success of nonprofit organizations since, as Taliento (2005) stated, nonprofit goals ...