Butter Your Way to the Top
Flattery, not good governance, reaps corporate directorships – especially for white males.
Leadership - Articles
Innovative ways to develop strong leadership capabilities (more)
Podcast
Heather McLeod Grant - What Makes Great Nonprofits Great?
Now, more than ever, nonprofit leaders need to know how to maximize their social impact. Center for Social Innovation researcher Heather McLeod Grant shares some of the groundbreaking research explored in her coauthored book Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits. Drawing on her extensive study of nonprofit leaders and organizations, Grant reveals that success isn't just about "nonprofit management," but about creating larger systemic change. She shares three of the six practices for making such transformation possible.
Philanthropy Doesn’t Care About Black People
It's high time for the nonprofit sector to put race on the table.
Worst Practices of a Social Entrepreneur
You can learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. Paul Schmitz, president and CEO of Public Allies, gives a sampling of classic foibles of not only social entrepreneurs, but leaders in general.
Creating High-Impact Nonprofits
Conventional wisdom says that scaling social innovation starts with strengthening internal management capabilities. This study of 12 high-impact nonprofits, however, shows that real social change happens when organizations go outside their own walls and find creative ways to enlist the help of others.
Podcast
William Ryan - Nonprofit Management and Board Governance
Addressing a huge nonprofit management challenge—boards' rampant and growing disengagement—consultant William Ryan suggests in this University podcast a new framework that will enhance efficiency in nonprofit governance. Speaking at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford University, Ryan demonstrates how the "governance as leadership" approach sheds new light on the traditional fiduciary and strategic work of the board, and introduces a critical third dimension of effective trusteeship: generative governance.
Podcast
Bill Drayton - Global Social Entrepreneur
Ashoka's founder, Bill Drayton, believes that everyone can be a changemaker. In this audio lecture, he reflects on many of the early influences that helped him understand how to advance true social progress. From these beginnings, he traces his own path in public service, and describes the founding of Ashoka, which has grown into a flourishing network of social entrepreneurs who can serve as role models for further progress in promoting social justice around the globe.
Foundation Boards Should Demand Failure, Expert Claims
Failure is the cost of true innovation.
The True Test of Leadership
Discussions of leadership and accountability in the nonprofit sector are usually overly narrow.
A New Era for Business
More and more business leaders recognize that their company's future is increasingly intertwined with the needs and demands of society. But many executives don't understand how to manage that changing relationship. In this article, McKinsey & Company consultants provide a model for incorporating sociopolitical issues into the strategic decision-making process.