Unit 3 NGO Leadership and Governance Flashcards
What is Governance?
The process of agreeing the long-term direction, priorities and performance of the organisation
held accountable for the use of the NGO’s resources by its stakeholders
What is Leadership?
application of vision, enthusiasm and motivation within an organisation to help it set and achieve its goals.
Opportunities, risk-taking and inspiring
influencing others in attaining the goals and vision of the organisation (Smillie and Hailey, 2001)
Effective Leadership = delegate management tasks to enable sufficient time to be spent on the priorities of leadership.
What is management (in relation to Governance and Leadership)?
authority to carry out particular management tasks
Focus on organising, planning, scheduling and implementing (smillie and Hailey (2001).
7x leadership tasks
- establish/communicate long term vision
- formulate the mission and strategy
- inspire people to use their creativity
- develop staff by example and praise
- create more effective systems
- focus on effectiveness - doing the right things
- look to the future and create new opportunities
7x governance tasks
- agree the long-term vision
- agree the mission and strategy
- appoint suitable people
- Ensure that the organisation is adequately staffed
- Identify major performance problems
- Focus on long-term overview - going in the right direction
- Monitor significant changes in the external environment
7x management tasks
- Relate the long-term vision to current activities
- Translate the mission and strategy into achievable objectives
- Ensure people can dow hat is expected of them
- Seek improvements through training, briefing and teamwork
- Establish procedures and ensure that staff know how to use them
- Focus on efficiency and economy - doing things correctly at minimum costs
- Look to the present and take advantage of current opportunities. React appropriately to challenges.
What is the “founder-trap”?
Charismatic founder-leaders who inspire people and organisations have often also resistance to change and block innovation - leading to problems of succession as the organisation develops.
5 main factors influencing an NGO leaders quality and effectiveness (fowler, 2001).
- leaders motivation, values and competencies
- internal pressure from employees skills, abilities and cultural expectations (fellowship), society and board demands.
- donor behaviour and relations
- situation, including organisational expectations, based on the life-stage of the NGO
- context in which the NGO operates (political space especially)
(Smillie and Hailey, 2001)
Characteristics and a balance for leaders (7x)
- Values
- ambition and development aspirations
- technical competency
- capacity to inspire
- judgment and understanding
- working with uncertain and changing external environements
- organisational design and effective management
(Smillie and Hailey, 2001)
Overlapping attributes in succesful leadership styles (3x)
- the ability to influence behaviour
- a capacity to motivate individuals and build teams
- the ability to think strategically
the 5 steps of leadership styles of Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1973):
the continuum of leadership behaviour model
- Telling
- Selling
- Testing
- Consulting
- Co-creating
Challenges of different leadership styles
- charismatic approach
- participatory approach
Downside Charismatic Approach: dependency among staff, no individual decision making (without leader). Inefficient. Risk of surviving after departure of the leader.
—- useful during natural disasters or emergencies
Downside Participatory Approach: responds are slow (cumbersom decision making). Battleground of organisational politics. Potential of loosing overall sense of direction due to lack of somebody taking responsibility towards mission/vision. Risk during times of crisis with nobody taking initiative or act authoritative.
Situational Leadership Model
a model of leadership that highlights the need to make judgements about the extent to which staff should be directed, coached, supported or delegated to, depending on the staff members’ level of skill and will.
Hersey and BLanchard (1990)
developed into a skill/will matrix (Landsverg 2003)
Landberg’s skill/will matrix (2003)
Y-ax: high/low will
X-as: high/low skill
boxes:
Guide, Direct, Delegate, Motivate (support and encourage)
Strengths and weknesses of the two models of leadership styles:
Tannenbaum/Schmidt’s continuum of leadership behaviour:
S: a range of leadership styles. Illustrates the balance of power between leader&staff which is inherent in different styles
W: does not recognise choice of leadership style may depent on the situation
Landsberg skill/will matrix:
S: importance of situation (influences choice of leadership style). Helps to choose style based on needs/abilities of followers.
W: only one situational variable = follower readiness
