November 16, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
As nonprofit leaders discusses the coming retirements of a wave of baby-boom generation leaders, Rosetta Thurman muses on her Perspectives from the Pipeline blog about what impact young managers will have on their organizations.
“Younger leaders of Generations X and Y absolutely have the opportunity to change the face of the nonprofit sector and find new ways of fulfilling our missions smarter, faster, cheaper, and with more innovation to better our communities,” Ms. Thurman writes. But, she asks, “how can things change if younger generations aren’t a part of the solution in current organizations? How will our ideas help shape the invisible future of the nonprofit sector?
Citing a presentation by Frances Kunreuther of the Building Movement Project on generational leadership change she attended this week in Washington, Ms. Thurman notes that Ms. Kunreuther calls the dilemma the “hard to see ahead problem.”
Younger charity managers, Ms. Kunreuther pointed out, are more racially diverse and “have differing views on organizational culture and leadership than baby boomers,” Ms. Thurman writes. And, as a result, Ms. Kunreuther said, they will mold their organizations in their own images.
“We know that baby boomers and next generation leaders are having a hard time working together to address these trends toward the future,” Ms. Thurman concludes.
As a remedy, she suggests that the older leaders who currently hold power in nonprofit organizations “ involve and work closely with younger generations to help prepare them for the long road ahead. Instead of being skeptical of new ideas, it’s important to realize that new ideas are the only thing that will help nonprofits to survive in the coming years, so it’s in nonprofits’ best interest to cultivate younger generations quick and in a hurry as the landscape changes.”
What do you think the older generation of charity leaders should be doing now to prepare younger charity workers for leadership and power? Click on the “comments” link below to share your thoughts.
