Shift of the future

People all over the nonprofit sector -- and beyond -- have been freaking out lately about the impending doom of a "leadership crisis," that is, the fact that about three-quarters of nonprofit executive directors/CEOs plan to peace out within five years.

Is the freak-out warranted? It depends on how you look at it. The Building Movement Project released an interesting (and short, and fun to read, I promise) report called Next Shift: Beyond the Nonprofit Leadership Crisis that looks at the issue and what we're going to do about it.

The old turning-lemons-into-lemonade trick seems to prevail here: Though the report considers the leadership crisis a problem, it looks at the deeper issues in the sector and how they -- with the help of rising leaders -- present opportunities for considerable change. Their three biggies:

1) Organizational structures. To be blunt, younger nonprofit professionals think many organizations are stuck in their ways -- ways that aren't necessarily the most effective for this generation.

2) Executive roles. Exectutive director and CEO positions don't appeal to young professionals because of how they fit (and don't fit) into organizations and the rest of their lives.

3) R-E-S-P-E-C-T. The Young want to be heard by The Old(er). They think there is a lot to learn from the Baby Boomer generation that's most often at the helm of organizations, but they feel as if they're not heard and respected enough to work together for change.

Those, folks, are the Cliff's Notes. But notice I haven't given you any solutions. GO READ THE REPORT! I'm sure you'll have a few minutes to kill at some point in your day.

And, fine. For those of you who just won't do it, I'll leave you with this chunk:

Younger leaders may appear to look and act differently from older
leaders,but all of our conversations and research have found that
nonprofitleaders—young and old—share a similar level of commitment. We are all
dedicatedto creating a more just and equitable society. As the leadership of
nonprofitorganizations changes during the next decade, we believe there will be
atremendous opportunity to stop and think about what this sector should look
likein the future.