Skip to main content

Three Most Important Nonprofit Executive Director Soft Skills


If you were asked to narrow down the list of executive director qualifications to the three most important, which ones would you identify? Would the list consist of soft skills, hard skills, or some combination? Would your list be based on the great ED you are or one you've worked for, or would it be your wish list for the ED you haven't been fortunate yet to work for? 

This was an assignment in my recent online class in leadership and administration for the American Association for State and Local History. I asked the class to review three-five advertisements for museum directors and analyze what these listings intimated about the organization’s past experience, current focus and goals, and future aspirations. Then, I asked the class to identify what they consider to be the three most important qualifications they would look for in a director. (Okay, so there's more than three if you dissect my three big groups.) 

Soft skills outnumbered hard skills, although demonstrated museum/nonprofit experience is right up there on the list.  We'll focus on the soft skills in this post; hard skills later.  Here's what the class said: 

Passion, Vision and Creativity 
"Museums need innovative and ambitious thinkers willing to try new things while being careful to not lose sight of those ever-important priorities," wrote one participant.  Another wrote, "Willing to carry out the values and vision of the organization."  Others cited a passion for the museum's discipline (science or history, for example) or special focus (Impressionist art or American arts and crafts). But this is not just about the objects; it's about connecting the dots. In that vein, one wrote, "Passion about the relevance of history to modern life." 

Effective Communication 
How many times have we seen this is a position listing?  When you think about the sheer number of people museums and their leaders interact with, communication is not just about speaking and writing in whole sentences.  This is about being able to build bridges at the staff and board levels, among audiences and within the community; to articulate a vision and purpose in ways that inspire individuals to get involved; to understand different groups and how to talk/work with them and a willingness to keep staff informed; and to negotiate and be able to reach consensus. 

Humility
I was surprised at how many times this attribute was cited as a top qualification.  This contribution from a class member says it all:  "I think that a good leader should always be open to the possibility that they might be wrong, or at least be aware that there might be alternative ways that something can be viewed. Be cognizant that you can always learn something new from anyone. First and foremost remain open to dialogue and differing points of view and always listen to advice given. You don’t have to follow it, but just listen, it just might be worth it. And don’t tell anyone to do something that you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself."

Comments

Unknown said…
These traits are on target! For me, "Communication" is key. "Passion" can't be faked, at least not for long.
Thanks for your comments, Carolyn! Communication may be the key underlying skill -- without it even the most passionate, innovative, or thoughtful leader can't lead.

Anne
Unknown said…
I definitely agree with these "soft skills" that are listed. I particularly find humility to be an important one, especially in non-profit situations. Non-profit organizations tend to be a lot more democratic than corporations are, and therefore the leader has to know how to honestly evaluate the merits of ideas and accept them above his/her own if they're more valuable. That takes a lot of humility and understanding and I feel like that's the lifeblood of service-based organizations. Great article! http://childrenofportauprincehaiti.org/about-us/
Rose Maria said…
Help understanding definition of non-profit organization?
nonprofitcompay
Jhon Marshal said…
This is easier and surely gives comfort to internet users. Thanks for sharing. Post like this offers great benefit. Thank you!
Karma
Jr. Williams said…
I wanted to thank you for this great read. Your blog is one of the finest blog . Thanks for posting this informative article.
Donation Distribution
Jhon Marshal said…
Great article, this is such an interesting and informative article.
millionaire podcast
Unknown said…
As a leader or director, you must have enough convincing power to encourage your team to work towards a required goal. Your given order should seem less of a command and more of a personal appeal to enhance the overall feeling of teamwork and unity.
Corporate Soft Skills Trainers in Bangalore | Effective Communication Skills Training Bangalore
aliyaa said…
The proofreading dissertation is an important skill for anyone to accomplish, and however much time is spent checking through your own work mistakes can be overlooked.
Unknown said…
Nice article, this is an interesting and informative post. I really get much info about the soft and hard skills. I was search about the soft and hard skills but this article is very helpful for me. useful link
Roy said…
Instructive prerequisites shift for various nations. For example age to begin tutoring shifts in various nations. For specific nations some type of tutoring is obligatory for youthful kids while others assert youngsters to appreciate the early years at home.more
anonymous said…
But people do need to understand that education is not an investment system where you invest your money and in future you will be able to earn double on the base of your degree and something else.click to read
Unknown said…
ATS writing is not so easy . You can do this easily when you follow some rules of it. This blog do this same work. This blog just advised you, that how to make it easier. If you need more information ,then you can visit this site.

click here .
Anonymous said…
Thank you for posting this useful information.

Wordpress Training in Chennai | Wordpress course in Chennai
Ava Lou said…
It is a nice read and very helpful. This translation will be a perfect option for us so that you can really get some work from us. http://www.phrasingtool.com/ into the right direction to make it happened to know about the thesis writing.
Heal and Rise said…
A good blog always comes-up with new and exciting information and while reading I have feel that this blog is really have all those quality.for information regarding soft skills training please visit to the link.
Personality Development in Delhi

Orgstead said…
Finding recruitment and leadership management consulting firms in India? then this is the right place for you. Orgstead is one of the best consulting firms which offer you various type of consulting services like education consulting, management consulting and much more.
Online Front said…
Online Front is the best website development company in India. Who provides professional website development services. We have a team of expert website designing and development. who definitely build a customize and attractive website for you and your targeted customer. you can generate unlimited revenue by promoting your online store with digital marketing services. and, the online front is a one-stop digital solution where you can get full services related to your online business.
Visit :-
Website Development Company In Delhi
Digital Marketing Company In Delhi
Website Development Packages
Website Designing company in delhi
Social Media Management Packages
Email Marketing Services

Visit Our Partner’s Site:-

Gas Stove Repair & Services in Delhi
B2B Marketplace in Delhi
Satta King
Aishwariya said…
Amazing Article sir, Thank you for giving the valuable Information really awesome.AWS certification course in Chennai
Rohan Singh said…

You have shared an incredible post; if you're conjointly seeking additional opportunities within the data technology-assisted business reach us to understand additional. mobile application development company. You can email us at sales@appsquadz.com or call us at +91-9717270746
Zoe said…
A candidate with strong communication skills is likely to be hired over one who is found to be lacking in this area, even if they are more technically skilled. This definitely holds true in the Asia Pacific context. Read: top 5 soft skills employers want candidates to have
Excellent effort to make this blog more wonderful and attractive.
data science course
What an incredible message this is. Truly one of the best posts I have ever seen in my life. Wow, keep it up.

Data Science Training in Bangalore
trublogger said…
Malwarebytes Crack 2022 efficient, secured and advanced anti-malware program for scanning your devices. It was made in 2006 which removes. Malwarebytes Keygen

Popular posts from this blog

Back in the Saddle

MY LAST POST WAS NOVEMBER 2012, A LIGHT YEAR AWAY it seems, that marked the beginning of a long push toward completing a manuscript on history museum leadership with my co-author, Joan Baldwin.  We finally submitted 350+ pages to our editor at Rowman & Littlefield this week.  If all goes well, we expect the book to be available in early 2014.  It's taken us two years to get to this point, so six more months or so of revision and production don't seem too long to wait until we can hold the final product in our hands (and you can, too!). The project put a lot of things on hold, including this blog.  I'm glad to be back writing about intentional leadership -- leading by design -- for nonprofit boards and staffs.  Certainly, my thoughts are now informed by the forthcoming book, in which Joan and I posit that nonprofits need to focus resources on leadership, not just management.  Most cultural nonprofits are at a crossroad, as is the sector in general, where nothing is qu

Change for Your Board in 2010: A Polling Update

WE'RE A DAY INTO MY LAST POLL (SEE RIGHT) AND the responses are clustering in two areas: 1) removing dead wood from the board and 2) using better/different tools to make decisions/evaluate performance. There are still six days left for your colleagues to cast their vote! In the meantime, those of you who are in need of tools for decision-making might want to check my posts on taking stock here , here and here .