Shared Wisdom for Successfully Leading Organizations

Category: Getting ready

How a non-profit CEO can create a culture of innovation

Once you’ve set a strategic direction and put together the team, you’ll want to work on building a culture of innovation and constant self-improvement. As the CEO of a non-profit organization, you’ll have to set the tone and put processes in place that will encourage staff to be open to critical thinking about the everyday work, with an eye on creative problem-solving and positive changes.

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How to prepare when interviewing for a CEO position

Interviewing for a CEO position must be a two-way conversation. The organization is interviewing to determine if the candidate is suitable. As the potential CEO, you must be strategic and use the interview to learn if the organization is one you want to lead.

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Assessing your fit with a non-profit organization

When deciding whether or not to take up an opportunity to lead an organization, the obvious place to start is with the mission. You need to have an affinity with it. A successful leader is one who believes in the organization’s goals, is passionate about advancing the cause, and has the credibility to sell the cause to the outside world.

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Tips to develop strategic and business plans for your non-profit

The following is an excerpt from Chapter Four “Making plans.” Once you have a comprehensive understanding of the key drivers of the organization, you are ready to develop strategic and business plans. Good plans are used to galvanize your team to reach agreed-upon and measurable goals. Plans outline future growth and development by prioritizing an organization’s work for the next three to five years.

This article is focused less on the nuts and bolts of plan-making than it is with the process of preparing a good plan and, in particular, the way to ensure that your plans get the necessary buy- in throughout your organization.

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How to craft the vision of your non-profit organization

Compass points to word "Vision"

The following is an excerpt from Chapter Three, “Crafting the vision.”

If you are leading an organization, you probably believe in its work or mission. Whether it is designing software, awarding scholarships, providing shelter to homeless people, or protecting the environment, you are clear on what the organization’s purpose is. Often, the factors that will help the organization achieve that goal are less obvious. In other words, what is the core business for the organization? As a new CEO, you must take some time to figure this out. If you don’t, your operations can go spinning out in all directions very quickly. Defining your core business is not always simple, but once articulated, it results in a clear vision.

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