Start 2025 with a Roadmap to Strategically Grow Your Nonprofit’s Future Leaders

Many nonprofits report that some of their strongest leaders are those who were “grown within” their organization. This internal leadership development, however, generally doesn’t happen by accident.  Many of the most successful nonprofits have built their own roadmap for strategic leadership development. 

By identifying the rising stars within your organization, you encourage team members to build new skills – both within their current role and by cross-training in other functions. This proactive approach to development:

  • promotes growth within the individual’s role
  • boosts team morale
  • helps insulate your organization against the impact of employee turnover
  • builds a stronger team to help better meet future nonprofit goals

 How to find your nonprofit’s future leaders

As a leader within your organization, you’re most likely juggling multiple responsibilities. That’s why it’s important to share the job of “leadership talent scout” with other senior team members.

Consider adding a line item to senior staff meetings encouraging these leaders to highlight ways their direct reports or other staff members have recently stepped up. Managers with direct day-to-day staff interaction often value the opportunity to sing the praises of their team members.

This addition to your meetings can be a simple way to identify future leaders. Some staff members may shine in situations where they can jump in and tackle an urgent situation. Introverted team members, on the other hand, may stand out because their dependable advice and calm suggestions paint them as a co-worker others turn to with questions. Both types of future leaders can be invaluable.

Be sure to keep track of the staff members making these extra mile contributions – either in your own notes or by asking that they be included in meeting notes. Afterward, consider sending a short email to the individual thanking them for going above and beyond. This type of praise costs your organization nothing but is often highly valued by the staff member you recognized.

Over the course of a few senior team meetings, you’ll likely see a few names that consistently earn accolades from their direct supervisors. Consider involving these individuals in future leadership development efforts.

UST Workforce Solutions offers a complimentary trial to UST HR Workplace – a full suite of tools powered by Mineral that can give you additional ideas for identifying future leaders. Start your free 60-day trial to find helpful articles, templates, and checklists to help your organization grow tomorrow’s leaders.

Building strategic leadership opportunities on a nonprofit budget

Plotting a roadmap for your organization’s leadership development doesn’t require a significant budget. Many of the best leadership training opportunities can be incorporated at little or no cost by proactively engaging key individuals in challenging opportunities.

  • Build growth into team member reviews through stretch goals. A staff member could be challenged to document a current process and propose ways to streamline the work or handle it more consistently. These types of hands-on opportunities can help the individual grow in their understanding of “how” and “why” your nonprofit has certain processes, while simultaneously helping to lighten the load for the rest of the team.
  • Pair newer team members with experienced staff as mentors. This relationship can take place informally through regular meetings or informal lunches. Setting up shadowing opportunities on certain projects may provide important education for team members who may be considered for upcoming management opportunities.
  • Assign team members to cross-functional projects. An individual who excels in front-line customer interactions may benefit from joining the team working on an upcoming fundraising project. This cross-team approach would help staff members gain a more well-rounded perspective, while potentially also yielding breakthrough project ideas due to varied team backgrounds.
  • Encourage various team members to facilitate staff meetings or team-building exercises. These types of tasks may seem easy to individuals who have never been in supervisory or management positions because they don’t always see the work that happens before and after a meeting or team-building event.  Working with future leaders to show them how to prepare for a meeting, guide a team through an agenda, and follow up afterward can be an eye-opening experience.
  • Invite selected team members to participate in certain board retreat sessions focused on leadership development. The individual gains a higher-level strategic view of your organization’s goals and challenges. At the same time, they’ll likely feel a renewed sense of commitment to your nonprofit as they see future initiatives come together. Senior leadership and board members may also benefit from the insights a future leader may bring to the discussion.

As your future leaders make their way through your organization’s leadership development roadmap, senior managers or supervisors should be encouraged to delegate smaller tasks to these individuals and monitor their performance. Ideally, you want to see them taking initiative on these responsibilities, set up a plan, project a positive attitude toward the team members they’re working with, and clearly communicate with the team and other stakeholders.

Once your leaders of tomorrow master lower-level projects, they can then step up to more significant responsibilities. In recognition of a team member’s growing leadership, many nonprofit organizations award these future leaders a “senior” title, which helps build a career path until a more elevated promotion opportunity becomes available.

If you’re interested in additional leadership training opportunities for your organization, take advantage of the 60-day free trial of UST HR Workplace. You’ll find 300+ on-demand training sessions to help motivate your nonprofit’s leaders of tomorrow.

SOURCES:

“Nonprofit Leadership – The Ultimate Guide For A Real Difference,” donorbox.org, 12/3/24

“6 Leadership Development Goals to Prioritize in Your Nonprofit,” dickersonbakker.com, 7/12/23

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01/24/25 8:16 AM

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