An acevo briefing producedto celebrate acevo’s 2007Leadership week (24-28 September 2007)

Leading leadersa snapshot into theminds of CEOs

By Astrid KirchnerHead of Leadership Developmentacevo

7 June 2007 saw acevo’s Summer Forum “Third Sector CEO: Leadership ChallengesPast, Present and Future”. Nearly 200 third sector leaders gathered in London for the event. The forum was part of a year of 20th anniversary celebrations for acevo.

This report is a summary of the information gathered during the event and provides a glimpse into the minds of third sector leaders.

Acevo wishes to thank all the speakers and delegates who took part in this event.

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LEADING LEADERS a snapshot into the minds of CEOs

Never underestimate the power of bumping into

people – a lot of leadership is linking things and

people before someone else does – so make sure

you’re in places where you can make

unplanned connections.

Steve James, CEO, The Avenues Trust

“”Know where you want the

organisation to go. If you're not

clear about the future then it's

impossible to communicate it

effectively to your people.

Lesley Dixon, CEO, Leeds University Union

“”

The core leadership skills of any chief executive can be summarised as:

� managing upwards: the governance of the organisation

� managing downwards: harnessing the organisation’s resources

� managing outwards: representing the organisation

In the middle of these three spheres of influence is the chief executive, with his/herpersonal style, values and interpretations of the world.

WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE CEO?

Representation –stakeholders and

the public

Management ofpeople andresources

Governance –Chair and

Board

CEO Leadership

vision, values,

style, impact

Communications

& delivery

Accountability

Corporate

governance

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Do what you enjoy. If you enjoy it you are

normally quite good at it, if you are good at it

and you are enjoying it people will follow.

Neil Kerfoot, CEO, Village by Village Ltd“ ”

Baroness Jill Pitkeathley (OBE), Chair,CAFCASS, talked about how the sector has now increased in diversity andprofessionalism. In her eyes the sector also has more confidence and a changedrelationship with government. It is able tobe assertive and to express the wishes ofconsumers (beneficiaries). She commentedthat although there are more sources offunding (Big Lottery Fund), the environmentis tighter and leaders have to become morepolitically sophisticated and increase theirnegotiation skills.

Dame Elizabeth Hoodless, ExecutiveDirector, CSV, also commented that 20 years ago the sector had much lessconfidence and that most of the sector’sleaders were male with a militarybackground. Dame Elizabeth stressed theimportance that in the CSV everyone is aleader and how important it is to walk thetalk. In her eyes leadership in the sectorcould be described as “servant” leadershipwhich implies an ethical use of power andempowerment of the people they serve.Integrity is key. The challenge ahead will be the development of the Next Generation leaders.

Julia Middleton, CEO, CommonPurpose, said that all problems are messyand sit across departmental/organisationalborders and therefore cannot be solved bysilos alone. She acknowledged that thethird sector is better able to crossboundaries. Crossing boundaries, however,often means that leaders need to provethemselves in a new area, which is beneficialto the leader’s development. Julia made acomparison to the world of films: “a greatactor never refuses to audition”. She spokeabout the importance of turbulent networksand how important it is to move out ofyour comfort zone and not to stay with thenetworks that love you.

Leadership advice from Julia CleverdonCVO CBE, CEO, Business In theCommunity and Chair of the abovesession:

Re-charge your leadership batteries,move out of your comfort zone, seethe world through someone else’seyes. Change your Chair every threeyears to get different perspectives.

What leadership advice would she give?Watch other people and watch theirlanguage. Never start believing yourown “bullshit” and have peoplearound you who tell the truth.

What leadership advice would she give?Every leader should have someone toshare the experience with – rolemodels and people who tell the truth– who can be rung up for advice. It isalso important to remain curious andpassionate about how things work.

What leadership advice would she give?Trust your instincts.

WHAT THE SPEAKERS HAD TO SAYA summary

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The speakers at the event drew on their personal experiences to illustrate their talks.Below are summaries of their perspectives split into past, present and future.

The last 20 years

The present dayAngela Sarkis, CEO, YMCA, talkedabout the importance of staying mission-led and not getting sidetracked intobeing funding led. “It is important to beable to say – this is what we stand for,will you give us money?”

Cedric Frederick, CEO, Adepta, dividedhis presentation into four differentchallenge areas.

1) Creating organisational clarityCedric said it is important to maintain a sense of unity and purpose – a clearline of sight. He gave the example ofthe NASA cleaner who was helping tobring people to the moon. Cedric saidthat everyone needs to know what theorganisation stands for, its values andnon-negotiables. He further talkedabout performance management bythese values and the importance of notforgetting who your customers andcompetitors are.

2) Same but differentCedric talked about the importance of working with the cultural diversitywithin the organisation, especially undera growth scenario. Cedric mentionedthat people’s loyalty is not to Adepta,but to the people they work with andthe ones they serve, something whichneeds to be acknowledged.

3) Getting the right people on the bus(even before you know where the bus is going)He mentioned the importance ofcreating an environment whereleadership can flourish at all levels and the importance of hanging on to top staff.

4) MeCedric talked about making decisions,questioning and challenging himself.He argues that it is important tounderstand the “self” first. And aspeople in his office once told him “the way he walks through the door in the morning sets the tone for allother staff”.

Sue Sayer, CEO, United Response, talkedabout how sad it was that everything hasbecome so competitive. She chose to focusher presentation on internal challenges.

1) Sue talked about making the complexsimple, and creating safe environmentsin which taking risks is possible. It iscrucial to help staff get things right andmake a difference, working with what isimportant to each person.

2) She mentioned the importance ofretaining passion for the cause andtrying to make a large organisation feelsmall by using a personal touch andcelebrating success.

Muhammad Abdul Bari Phd, CEO, TheMuslim Council of Britain, mentionedthat his leadership is rooted in communityleadership, a perspective emerging fromsystems of interlinked communities andeffective long-lasting social change. Hispresentation covered challenges rangingfrom polarization, diversity, insularity andreligious dogma. At the end he stressedthat successful leadership needs to take asystems perspective to be able to show howthese interlinked challenges can be tackled.

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Leading the FutureNick Wilkie, CEO, London Youth,talked about the complexity of the sectorand questioned whether or not there is “a third sector”. He mentioned challengesof new localism, double devolution andinternal politics. Looking to the future, he pointed out changes in the workforceand that future leaders may be fully self-supporting with no PA and a “slivers oftime” workforce. He predicted the end of the cult of the “hero-leader”. He said of innovation: “there are case studies, butno pattern of understanding”. In terms of social innovation transfer, Nickmentioned that smaller charities may“seed” in larger charities. Nick talkedabout the importance of clearmanagement as the “oil in the engineroom”. He also urged the rescue ofpositive elitism in order to pursue agraduate scheme for the sector. The sector needs really bright graduates andshouldn’t lose them through voluntaryjobs with no career options.

Matthew Taylor, CEO, RSA, started his presentation by describing the sector’sdifferent interfaces. He described theprivate/voluntary sector interface asincredibly dynamic compared to thepublic/voluntary sector interface which is slow and not able to keep up withrealities of the world. He argued thatchange comes from people and we need a citizen-centric view. Matthew then talkedabout globalism and social networking.He encouraged a view that government isa friend, not just a client, and mentionedthat new technology is constantlylowering barriers of entry. In terms ofleadership advice, he suggested beingconstantly on the look out for people whoinspire you, and remaining self-critical.

LEADING THE FUTURE

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Spend time getting to know yourself.

The more you understand yourself –

including your weaknesses – the more

use you will be to people who you lead.

Tom Franklin, CEO, Ramblers Association

Follow your instinct, it's usually right.

Cedric Frederick, CEO, Adepta

““ ”

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THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF THIRD SECTOR LEADERSHIP what the delegates had to say

highs

“The increase inprofessionalism in the sectorwithout a loss of the sector’sunique level of enthusiasm .”

My tip for leaders is to keep on learning.

Stephen Gilbert, CEO, Printers’ Charitable Association

Fundraising success

Making a difference to the local community

Seeing the difference to people’s lives

Learning from volunteers and staff

Leading a growing organisation

Overseeing an improvement in our service delivery

“ ”

During the acevo Summer Forum 2007, we asked delegates to reflect on their highs andlows of third sector leadership. Over the next two pages their thoughts are expressed.

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lows

“Trying to bring the trustees into the twentieth century, letalone the twenty-first century!”

The best advice I ever received was that the

Chief Executive's three priorities should be

communication, communication and

communication….

Joanna Elson, Chief Executive, Money Advice Trust

“”

Constant arguments with Board members

Having to dismiss employees

Feeling very isolated and lonely

Losing key staff unexpectedly

Bureaucracy

Poor trustee relationships

Getting trustees to think strategically

Terrible Board

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What are the leadership challenges that keep you awake at night and what are thefuture leadership challenges for the sector?

Understanding the difference between management and leadership

THE CURRENT STATE OF MINDA look at the present and into the future

Beingsqueezed by largercharities

Gettingtrustees tomove with the times Innovation

and creativity

Missingopportunities

Losing keystaff

Governance

How to beunique

Building upassets

Govt. policychanges atlocal level

Maintainingstaff

commitments

Mergers

The challenges

Spottingtalented staff

THE ISSUES IN MORE DETAILwhat are the highs and lows:

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Positive

Seeing staff lead, develop and grow

Working with motivated staff

Seeing staff driving the organisation forward

Having a strong leadership team

Seeing staff members achieve greatthings

Developing a recruitment andretention strategy

Negative

Letting staff go/making them redundant

Employment tribunals

Diversity of staff

Dealing with staff conflict

Getting staff to engage with a changed world and changingrequirements

Employee stress

“Achieving a top team – they make such a difference to my life”

Staffing issues

Positive

Having confidence in the trustees

Having excellent working relationships with the Board

Negative

Dealing with conflict on the Board

Communication breakdown betweenthe Board and senior staff

Lack of trustee support

Adversarial relationship with theBoard

Working with a trustee Board who did not have the charity as one oftheir key interests

“Trustees, trustees, trustees...”Trustee Board issues

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Positive

Getting people to invest

Negotiating successful financial deals

Achieving a budget surplus in thefirst year of the post

Reaching desired turnovers

Negative

Losing benefactors

Not achieving financial targets

Financial pressures

“Grappling with funding (or lack of ) issues”Financial issues

Positive

Being told by a beneficiary “this charity clearly saved my life”

Creating invaluable support networks

Realising that to be a good leader Ineed to be myself

Working for the third sector is ahigh

Sharing and being supported by other CEOs

Negative

Overwhelming workload

Feeling unsupported by staff

Realising that colleagues will nevertruly be my friends or peers

Going into the position knowingnothing about the third sector

“The position of CEO is one that tests all myskills and experience”

Personal issues

“Leadership development has never been moreimportant. Being a leader is much morechallenging as higher and higher expectationsare being placed on leaders in an ever morecomplex world. We aim to add real value byhelping third sector leaders work together tochallenge assumptions, refresh their thinkingand develop new leadership approaches for thefuture.”Dr Mark Pegg, Director of Public andVoluntary Sector Programmes,Ashridge Business School

“Many organisations in our sector are nowclearer on how they want to develop theirleaders – they want leaders they can trust,that can think strategically, can work inpartnership and can motivate staff and volunteers.”Denise Fellows, Head of Consultancyand Development, Cass Centre forCharity Effectiveness

“The importance of investment in leadershipdevelopment of any kind cannot beunderestimated – the challenge is to develop the mindset that investment in developmentactivity is fundamental to the sector's strengthand growth. If we fail to invest in ourselves,we will be failing to invest in ourorganisations and serve the communities weseek to support. Valuing yourself is valuingyour beneficiaries.”Tracy Beasley, Manager, Third SectorLeadership Centre

“Leaders are key figures in the emotionalundercurrents of the organisation. Leadershipis a political and emotional process in whichdirection is established and vibrantfollowership engaged. Leaders become a focusfor the organisation’s fears and anxieties –and hopes for the future.”Kim Turnbull James, Professor ofExecutive Learning, Cranfield Schoolof Management

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THE ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE

About acevoAcevo is the professional body for thirdsector chief executives, with over 2000members. We connect, develop andrepresent the sector’s leaders.

Acevo provides a wide range of servicesto members. We enable our members to connect with each other at ournetworking events. We offer a suite of

professional development courses andworkshops, all focused on leadershipdevelopment. We offer practical supportin terms of helplines and discountedservices. We keep our members informedthrough various communicationschannels and we also represent themthrough our policy work.

For full details about acevo please visitwww.acevo.org.uk

Life shrinks or expands in

proportion to one’s courage.

Anais Nin“ ”

IntroductionAcevo, the Association of ChiefExecutives for Voluntary Organisations, is the professional body for third sectorleaders. With over 2000 members and 20years of experience, acevo has significantexpertise on issues relating to third sectorleadership. Acevo’s approach to leadershipdevelopment is based on the hallmarks of“peer to peer” learning and “developinglife-long leadership”. Acevo is currentlyconsulting on a code of conduct for thirdsector CEOs underpinning our drive toprofessionalize the sector. The code alsorepresents a guarantee for great leadership.As the third sector becomes of increasedpolitical importance, it is crucial for itsleaders to demonstrate that they are ableto lead effectively.

Are CEOs great leaders?“Do what you enjoy. If you enjoy it you arenormally quite good at it, if you are good at itand you are enjoying it people will follow.”Neil Kerfoot, CEO, Village by Village Ltd

Third sector CEOs need to be verycapable individuals in order to own up tothe responsibilities entrusted upon themand to achieve what is expected from thisdemanding role. CEOs, by virtue of theirjob title, are in a position of authorityand leadership within an organisation. Let me, however, explore the differencebetween leadership and authority further.

Every individual has an external “face”,representing the parts of a person visible

to others – such as their behaviours andwhat they say. Hidden from view are aperson’s thoughts, their mental models ofthe world, values and experiences. Thesehidden assumptions are what influencesand drives the external/visible “face” ofany individual – including CEOs.

The leader’s values and mental modelswill drive how they see the world and thepicture (or vision) of the world/futurethey will paint for others.

Leadership does not happen in a vacuumand by definition has to do with others (if you were the only person in the worldyou cannot really be a leader, as there isno one to lead apart for yourself).

Leadership is also always contextdependant. Different situations requiredifferent styles, and leaders need to beable to read the situation and choose the most appropriate tools to influenceothers. The tools available range fromenthusiasm and reason to force andcoercion. Every leader will have theirnatural and preferred style.

Whatever the leader does will have aconsequence and an impact on others. Inthe case of the CEO, this will affect theentire organisation and the environmentwithin which it operates. Much of theimpact will be based on other people’sperceptions, which are not necessarilyequivalent to the intentions of the leader.How people perceive the CEO willdepend on the external “face” the leader shows. Le

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A LEADERSHIP MODEL FOR EXPORTAn article published in autumn 2007 by the International Leadership in Public Services JournalBy Astrid Kirchner, Head of Leadership Development, acevo

The article will explore the link between authority and leadership in a third sectorcontext. It will outline acevo’s leadership model and will provide insights into thecurrent challenges being faced by leaders in the third sector. The article emphasizes theimportance of acevo’s code of conduct as a guarantee for great leadership.

“What I have learnt is that you are alwayscommunicating even when you think youaren't, and when you think you arecommunicating clearly, others may have a different perception.”Joanna Elson, Chief Executive, Money Advice Trust

In a simple analogy, the leader’s impactcan be described as the ripples an objectleaves when it hits the water:

The external environment, however, willalso have an impact on the leader, shapetheir understanding and in turn mayinfluence their behaviour. CEOs have theauthority to lead their organisation;whether they are seen to be great leaders,however, will depend on their impact andthe perception about their legitimacy andcredibility by others.

Leadership research has traditionally beenassociated with what makes successful

leaders. Research by Jim Collins1 suggeststhat those leaders who build truly greatcompanies are those that combinehumility and will – Collins termed this‘Level 5 leadership’. Recent research,however, has also focused on leadershipfailure and toxic leadership.

By contrast, Barbara Kellerman tries toshed light on the matter by looking atwhat constitutes “bad leadership”2. Sheoutlines seven categories thereof:

� Incompetent leadership ischaracterised through a lack of will,skill, or needed intelligence to sustaineffective action,

� Rigid leadership may be seen asrunning a “tight” ship, where itsleaders do not listen to the ideas ofothers and stick to their prejudices,

� Intemperate leaders lack self-control,

� Callous leadership behaviour includesnot treating others with considerationand being “uncaring” of others feelingsand their needs,

� Corrupt leaders believe the endjustifies the means and they will puttheir self-interest above the interest ofothers,

� Insular leadership disregards thewelfare of those “outside” the group,and

� Evil leadership is described as where leaders and followers engage in atrocities.

“Bad leadership”, particularly in anorganisational context, can occur wherepeople confuse formal authority withleadership and abuse their power base.

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SELF

EXTERNALENVIRONMENT

(EN)VISION

TOOLS

CONTEXT

IMPACT

�

�

1 Jim Collins (2001) “Good to great: why some companies make the

leap and others don’t”

2 Barbara Kellerman (2004) “Bad Leadership”, Harvard Business

School Press

I recently carried out a number ofpresentations on leadership around thecountry. I asked delegates to think aboutleaders they admire and why, but also tothink about the worst leader they haveencountered. Inspirational leaders werethose with no formal authority,exhibiting empowering behaviourstowards others or standing for a certaincause, such as Martin Luther King orMother Teresa. The worst leaders werethose with formal authority seen to befollowing their own agenda or falling intoone of Barbara Kellerman’s categoriesabove (old bosses were mentioned most often).

Figure 3 provides a visual representationof the difference between leadership and authority.

Acknowledging the difference betweenleadership and authority throughoutacevo’s work, we not only aim to instillprofessionalism in the third sector, butalso integrity and great leadership.Acevo’s code of conduct aims to provide a guarantee for the quality of leadershiprequired on CEO level.

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SELFUNOFFICIAL

Informal/moralsociety

Mother Teresa

Gandhi

Martin Luther King

Old bosses…

‘GOOD’/POSITIVE

(behaviours, cause, impact)Level 5 leadership

BAD/NEGATIVE

(behaviours, cause, impact)Incompetence <-> Unethical

OFFICIAL

Formal authority (role, status)

(EN)VISION

TOOLS

CONTEXT

IMPACT

Fig 3: difference between leadership and

authority

Third sector leadership“Leadership is the opportunity to live thedream.”Cedric Frederick, CEO, Adepta

Acevo developed a leadership modeladdressing the core skills of CEOs. Themodel puts the CEO in the centre ofthree different spheres:

� Leading upwards – managing thegovernance of the organisation

� Leading downwards – harnessing theorganisation’s resources and effectivelyrunning the organisation, and

� Leading outwards – in terms ofrepresenting the organisation andbeing its figure head

These core skills are the same, whatever the sector, however there aresome distinct features relating to thirdsector leadership.

Challenges particular tothird sector CEOs:Governance:Third sector organisations are known to work with the most vulnerable andmarginalised people of society, as well ascampaign for issues of public benefit.Acevo surveys show that the majority oftrustees are white, male and over 553 – asocio-demographic not representative ofthe environment most third sectororganisations operate in.

Third sector CEOs need to leadorganisations in an environment filledwith complexity and uncertainty. Theymust do this under the watchful eyes of a complex array of stakeholders, some of whom are in competition with eachother. Third sector leaders must also steertheir organisations successfully through a maze of funding and opportunities. They, furthermore, need to manage theexpectations of numerous stakeholders (ie: funders, staff, media and government)without losing sight of the beneficiaries,or worse, losing sight of the mission of the organisation.

Running the organisation:Effectively harnessing the resources of theorganisation, as well as translating Boarddecisions into achievable strategic aims ofthe organisation, is a key skill for CEOs.

Third sector CEOs need to be extremelyflexible and innovative in order to makeends meet, and to manage the organisationin climates of uncertain financial times.

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Representation –stakeholders and

the public

Management ofpeople andresources

Governance –Chair and

Board

CEO Leadership

vision, values,

style, impact

Communications

& delivery

Accountability

Corporate

governance

�

�

�

��

�

3 Acevo 2006/07 pay survey “Raising our Game”

Fig 4: the leadership spheres of a third sector CEO

The third sector leader also needs to beskilled in motivating and maintainingstaff morale without financial incentives.Third sector employees are oftenintrinsically motivated by the values ofthe organisation and the prospect of beingable to make a difference. Managing thepassions of employees and volunteers canbe challenging at times.

“Having passionate volunteers and staff is fantastic – until you want to changesomething they don’t agree with. Then all the passion can swiftly turn from a positive to a negative for you as CEO.”Craig Dearden-Phillips, CEO,Speaking Up

The CEO as figurehead:Any CEO needs to be able to scan theirstrategic environments and influencestakeholders for the benefit of theirorganisation. CEOs in the third sectorneed to be very politically aware and wellnetworked in order to make the most ofopportunities available.

“Never underestimate the power of bumpinginto people – a lot of leadership is linkingthings and people before someone else does – somake sure you’re in places where you can makeunplanned connections.”Steve James, CEO, The Avenues Trust

One of the main differences for thirdsector leaders is that their customer isoften not the consumer of the service –this brings with it the challenge to

always have the beneficiary of theorganisation in mind when representingthe organisation. It also means that a lot of energy that could go on thebeneficiaries often ends up beingexpended on keeping the payingcustomer – the funder (often government) – happy.

A current state of affairs:

A recent report4 following acevo’sLeadership Summer Conference providesinsights into what keeps third sectorleaders motivated and what keeps themawake at night.

The main reason people want to be athird sector CEO is that it enables themto make a difference5. A key positive forpeople working in the sector is theincrease in professionalism in the sectorwithout a loss of the sector’s unique levelof enthusiasm.

It is also clear that the main worries of CEOs fall into two priority spheres, the governance and management of theorganisation – summarised, through analmost ubiquitous frustration in thesector of, in the words of one CEO,“trying to bring the trustees into thetwentieth century, let alone the twenty-first century”.

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4 Acevo Leadership Briefing – follow up report from acevo Summer

Forum “Third Sector Leadership: Past, Present and Future”

5 acevo pay survey

Implications forleadership

According to Rob Goffee et al.6 effectiveleaders must answer the question: “Whyshould anyone be led by you?” every dayin all they say and do. The obviousquestion to probe is: are all CEOs areaware of their impact? In the words ofone acevo member:

“Model the values and behaviours you want tosee in others – leaders set the climate andculture of organisations and a positive climateis crucial if people are going to be successful.”Craig Dearden-Phillips, CEO,Speaking Up

Julia Middleton, CEO, Common Purposeand acevo member asserts that leadersneed to be able to do what she called“lead beyond authority”. The crucial pointis: “It’s not about having authority butchoosing not to use it; it’s about having noauthority at all. It’s about earning legitimacywith ideas that resonate – and an approach toleadership that means people end up willinglygranting authority to you7”. According toher speech at the acevo SummerConference – “great actors never refuse toaudition”.

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Highs of third sector CEO-ship Lows of third sector CEO-ship

Fundraising success Constant arguments with Board members and terrible Board, and getting trustees to think strategically

Making a difference to the local Fundingcommunity and seeing the difference to people’s lives

Learning from volunteers and staff Feeling very isolated and lonely

Leading a growing organisation Having to dismiss employees

Overseeing an improvement in our Losing key staff unexpectedlyservice delivery

6 Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones (2006) “Why should anyone be led by

you”, Harvard Business School Press

7 Julia Middleton article “Leading beyond authority” in acevo

Leadership newsletter, 3rd edition September 2007. In her book,

Beyond Authority: Leadership in a Changing World (2007), she

explores a new style of leadership where authority has to be

earned rather than granted.

Table 1 provides a summary of the main concerns currently faced by third sector CEOs.

Table 1: Leadership Conference Highlights

Third sector organisations are often set up by passionate individuals who haveidentified a need for change. Their driveand enthusiasm allows them to inspireothers into the cause. This gives them a particular kind of legitimacy.

“Being a founder-CEO does give me credibilityin the eyes of others. I think staff know that I have earned the role, done what they havedone and am personally committed to ourmission. This credibility really helps me tolead effectively.” Craig Dearden-Phillips, CEO,SpeakingUp

All non-founder CEOs are formallybestowed the authority of leading theorganisation – the respect and trust of doing so will need to be earned from others.

Conclusion

Acevo’s code of conduct and expectedbehaviors for third sector CEOs impliestrustworthy stewardship of anorganisation’s assets. Any leader owesintegrity, competence and professionalismto the people who trust them to lead andit is important that the organisation’sleader is competent in all areas of the coreskills of any CEO. Subscribing to thecode will be a sign of quality for greatleadership, and legitimate authority forthe sectors leaders. Acevo is proud inleading the way to support our membersin doing so.

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