Ready to Lead

There is a great new study from the Myers Foundation about the next generation of leadership for nonprofit organizations. From the report:

A skilled, committed, and diverse pool of next generation leaders would like to be nonprofit executive directors in the future, according to a new national survey of nearly 6,000 next generation leaders. However, the survey also finds that there are significant barriers: work-life balance, insufficient life-long earning potential, lack of mentorship and overwhelming fundraising responsibilities which may prevent many younger nonprofit staff from becoming executives. The survey, Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out, is the largest national survey to date of emerging nonprofit leaders and was produced by the Meyer Foundation in partnership with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Idealist.org.

An interesting fact from the report is that less that one-third of nonprofit executive director hires happen from within an organization, compared to 65% in the for-profit sector. Without a clear path to move up in nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, will the sector lose its most promising new talent?