Cultural Fit Emerges as Key Credential for Nonprofit Leadership Jobs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) July 17, 2009 -- BOSTON, MA-July 16, 2009- A candidate for a leadership or management role can have the right credentials, experience, and accomplishments, but without the right cultural fit, she/he can fall flat on the job. This is especially true in the nonprofit sector, where cultural fit is highly regarded and can often turn a 100 percent match in skills and experience, according to the recent Bridgespan study, “Finding leaders for America’s Nonprofits.” (http://www.bridgestar.org/Resources/Library/Recruit/FindingLeaders.aspx)

To better understand this issue, Bridgestar, an initiative of the Bridgespan Group, interviewed Brian O’Connell, author of Fifty Years in Public Causes: Stories from a Road Less Traveled (http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Years-PublicCuases-Traveled/dp/1584654767) in its July newsletter (http://www.bridgestar.org/Resources/Newsletters/2009/July2009.aspx). O’Connell is also cofounder and president emeritus of Independent Sector, the U.S. umbrella group for voluntary initiatives. In sharing his perspective, O’Connell highlighted the following points in the article “Cultural Fit in the Nonprofit Sector: A Conversation with Brian O’Connell” (http://www.bridgestar.org/resources/recruiting/culturefit.aspx) about nonprofit culture and leadership.
• It takes a unique person to succeed in a nonprofit staff role but characteristics for success include: ability to get along with people; patience, tolerance, maturity; and, a willingness to work hard.
• Even if someone has not had prior experience in the sector they can succeed: prior volunteer service can mean a lot as can the ability to work within groups for the good of the group, not for the individual.

• Finding good people and placing them in the sector gets too little attention. Invest in an executive search believing that success will pretty much guarantee a return at the end of two or three years.
• To identify the right cultural fit, spend time looking at candidates’ board or committee track records and drill down hard with the candidates’ on the fit; assess their passion.


About Bridgestar

Bridgestar (www.bridgestar.org), an initiative of the Bridgespan Group www.bridgespan.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, provides a free nonprofit management job board, content, and tools designed to help organizations build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. Bridgestar (www.bridgestar.org), an initiative of the Bridgespan Group (www.bridgespan.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, provides a free nonprofit management job board, content, and tools designed to help organizations build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. Bridgestar’s goal is to attract, connect, and support senior talent, leading to greater organizational effectiveness and social impact.

For further information, please contact: Liz London, Director of Media and Conferences at liz.london@bridgespan.org or at 646-562-8906.