Not-for-profits are a unique breed, with their CEOs facing very different leadership challenges to their publicly listed and privately-owned counterparts.
I’m still recovering from my stint as a charity CEO reporting to a board of volunteer directors. I led two separate international aid charities through rapid growth after two decades as the managing director of an advertising agency. The change from leading a privately owned business to a not-for-profit gave me a severe case of leadership whiplash. In one step, I went from running a tight, fast-moving ship where I held the purse strings and drove strategic direction, to reporting to a slow-moving, risk-averse Titanic of thin-skinned, sometimes inexperienced, volunteer board members.
The constitution of almost all NFPs prevents the remuneration of a professional board. This means the entity can be led by a high-performing CEO who is reporting to a volunteer board of well-meaning but unqualified directors. An inexperienced board can terminate a highly-skilled CEO – and they do. Cue the fireworks and a downturn in revenue.
Many CEOs in my network have observed the same problem of the lack of experience among their board of bosses being one of the most difficult challenges.
This story is from the November 2019 edition of The CEO Magazine Asia.
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This story is from the November 2019 edition of The CEO Magazine Asia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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