How can we build leadership together?
At the organizational level
- Shift organizations to nurture new leadership structures and share leadership.
- Nonprofit organizations can apply the framework by talking about it with staff and board members and by conducting organizational self-assessments. They can work to ensure they have the policies, systems, and supports in place to develop and support current and emerging leadership and that there are resources allocated for training and development.
At the sector level
- Create and amplify sector-driven solutions
- To raise awareness of leadership competencies needed for the future, initiatives are needed such as a resource bank to share tools and programs, a focus on developing the nonprofit sector’s relationship with universities and colleges, and collaboration on leadership development among sector and sub-sector organizations and in smaller urban centres and rural communities.
At the systems level
- Advocate for change at the systems and policy level
- We also need system level attention to the sector’s human resources, including policy change, reliable and accurate workforce information/data, and sustained, long-term investment in human resource development. We need promotion of a career in the nonprofit sector. Policy and advocacy initiatives to promote “decent work”, including fair incomes, stable employment, health benefits, and a sector-wide nonprofit pension plan, are important to attract and retain a stable workforce and create leadership pipelines for the future.