India shows the challenges for good social sector leadership, says Ruby Chadwick.
There is a sense of massive energy and optimism in India. People in the social impact sector are starting to ask the right questions, which is leading toward a shift in the entire business model of the traditional charity. More and more, leadership is rising to the top as a key factor in leading that shift.
Earlier this year, The Resource Alliance brought together a group of inspiring change-makers in the social impact sector in India to talk about critical issues in leadership. Participants shared and discussed key challenges of being a leader in the sector in India, and offered support and advice to each other. Following are some observations they shared.
What does leadership mean?
Effective leadership is, unfortunately, a scarce resource. People too often assume that simply being given a title makes them a leader. We’re generally conditioned to seek leaders out -- it’s in our DNA -- but we’re often bad at choosing good ones. Or supporting them when we do.
Being a leader is about being the right person, in the right place and doing the right thing. It’s also about building the next generation of leaders in your organisation.
Leadership is a lifelong journey. We need to spend time thinking about our leadership footprint and how to best serve our cause and our co-workers. Dedicated people join organisations because of their cause and mission, but too often leave because of their managers.
The participants shared the main challenges they experience from being a leader.
Getting the right people on the bus
It’s a challenge to find people to work on the team who share the organisation’s vision. And if you do find them, it’s a challenge to find enough funding to employ them -- the talent comes at a cost. Oganisations that work in rural areas are especially challenged to get people to work in the villages. Qualified persons aren’t likely to choose to go back and work somewhere that they worked so hard to get out of.
Building up young leaders
When working with young leaders, there is a huge challenge in tackling the issue of their own self-belief. Being a social entrepreneur is a lonely place without a network of support. There’s a strong sense of competition rather than working together for the greater goal. In India specifically there is a huge fear of failure and aspirations not being met. In some instances, individuals would rather not try at all than try and fail.
Balancing social and economic interests
There’s a challenge in ensuring that organisations are financially sustainable while also maintaining social responsibility, and trying to always be innovative. There is also increasing suspicion from donors about how organisations are spending and handling their money.
Misrepresentation at the top
There are issues with ageism when it comes to being respected as a leader in India over the age of 60. And there is also the ongoing issue of gender in leadership roles. Women who make it to positions of leadership often find themselves the only woman in the room.
How do we overcome these challenges?
It is hugely important to have people on your team that represent the values and mission of the organisation. Truth and integrity distinguish the social impact sector from the corporates, but there are actually a lot of things we could be learning from them -- such as valuing and working to much higher standards of practice. This is something that organisations like Goonj are pioneering.
The women who work in Goonj workshops are offered incentives such as competitions to produce the highest quality products. Goonj doesn’t seek donations based simply on people’s desire to give. They want to sell high-quality products that people want to have. Organisations are starting to understand how unsustainable the “pity purchase” is.
Creating a second generation of leaders in your organisation is something that needs to be encouraged. Leaders shouldn’t be afraid of hiring someone who is smarter than they are. Early leadership takes a while to manifest, but the impact is huge. Second-generation leaders give the founder/CEO of social enterprises space to move on and do more work in the sector.
Organisations need to realise the importance of taking time to breathe, and reflect on what they’re doing, what they could improve on and what else is going on in the sector. The mission can’t become more important than the organisation.
Leaders need a supporting environment where they can discuss issues they are experiencing and share with like-minded individuals. Leadership positions can be a lonely place, and leaders often don’t give themselves time to just sit and vent.
The promise to continue to share and learn
The group has agreed to continue to hold this forum every couple of months. Each attendee will take turns hosting the forum. This will include the host presenting his or her organisation’s story, as well as introducing the group to their other staff members, as well, to include as many people as possible in the sharing process. They have also all agreed to invite a second-generation leader to their respective forums.
The objectives of the follow-up meetings will be to continue to learn from each other on the issues surrounding leadership, but also to begin to grow and nurture the sense of community. This type of sharing and support is essential, since it’s s not just about any one leader or organisation or cause; it is about the greater good, and collaboration among social impact leaders will serve only to strengthen the sector as a whole.
Ruby Chadwick is international programmes manager for The Resource Alliance.
For information on The Resource Alliance’s Leading for the Future programme, go to www.resource-alliance.org/leadership.
With more than 100 sessions and 18 intensive masterclasses, the 2016 International Fundraising Congress, happening 18-21 October in the Netherlands, is about “Asking the Right Questions.” For more information on the IFC, go to www.resource-alliance.org/ifc.
Civil Society Media would like to that the Resource Alliance for its support with this article
