Former business execs who managed to cross over successfully into nonprofits - ex-Porter Novelli CEO, former White House deputy chief of staff, ex-LA Times publisher, former fashion executive - talk frankly about the difficulties of transitioning into leadership positions in nonprofits. Les Silverman and Lynn Taliento of McKinsey & Co, are able to get these successful cross-overs to share some candid advice on how not to underestimate the challenges of managing a nonprofit. According to Silverman and Taliento, nonprofit leaders generally have more stakeholders than their for-profit counterparts, they need to get used to the idea of less respect and control and hone their skills of leading by consensus and influence. The quotable Reynold Levy, president of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, says in the article, “The nature of passive resistence within a nonprofit setting is at levels that could teach Gandhi lessons.” Your thoughts?
(“What Business Execs Don’t Know - but should - About Nonprofits” by Silverman and Taliento appears in the Summer issue of SSIR. )
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Read more stories by Perla Ni.