The culture of nonprofit organizations is changing. Nonprofits should be equipped with adequate leadership to ensure creativity and high job performance among employees. In addition, nonprofit managers must assure their stakeholders that the mission and vision of the organization is being realized. Many nonprofits are operating within a strategic environment of limited budgets and diminishing funding sources. Building strong leaders within these organizations is more important now than ever, especially in a challenging economic environment. Leadership theory, specifically the Contingency Theory of Leadership may place employees in the proper situations that bring forth unique leadership skills.
Nonprofit Leadership
According to Vroom & Jago, (2007) leadership is the process of influence, or the ability of a person to influence others. But the effectiveness of a leader is not that simple. Leadership effectiveness is often based upon the situation and environment in which a person leads.
Nonprofits must acknowledge that leaders are not just managers and supervisors. The leaders in an organization include anyone who has the ability to persuade others to work together for a common organizational goal. Leadership is a process that involves motivation, collaboration and hard work.
Contingency Theory in Nonprofit Management
The Contingency Theory of Leadership focuses on leadership within organizations. Research has found that task-oriented leaders are intolerant of team members that are not participative. In contrast, relationship-oriented leaders try to have good relationships with all team members regardless of their level of participation. Consequently, task oriented leaders perform better in situations where the task, objectives, and goals of the project are clear. And relationship-oriented leaders thrive in situations of little control and uncertainty.
How can Contingency Theory help develop leaders in nonprofits? Offering a leadership training program may help determine whether an individual is task-oriented or relationship-oriented. In addition, nonprofit managers must place people in situations or on projects that allow them to be of the most influence. This will encourage the workgroup and the workgroup will be motivated to encourage donors and clients. It is the encouraging of others that is at the heart of being a nonprofit leader.
Contingency Theory Develops Strong Leaders
The Contingency Theory of Leadership states that personality traits are not the only factor that determines successful leadership. The matching of personality with the appropriate work situations can help discover leaders that may have been otherwise overlooked. This will allow people the opportunity to do their best work while developing themselves and their followers to the fullest.
Vroom, V. & Jago, A. (2007). The role of the situation in leadership. American Psychologist, 62(1), 17-24.
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