Leaders Who Make a Difference: Essential Strategies for Meeting the Nonprofit Challenge

by Burt Nanus, Stephen M. Dobbs

"Nanus and Dobbs have written a seminal book about a long-neglected and key area of American the leadership of not-for-profits.... It's a first and should be read by all those concerned about board members most especially, but volunteers, executives, benefactors, and academics as well."
--Warren Bennis, University Professor, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, and coauthor of Organizing Genius

"These authors have made a remarkable contribution to social sector nonprofit leadership. It's a valuable resource by two great authorities on a critical need."
--Frances Hesselbein, chairman of the board, The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management

"If there's one thing that today's nonprofit sector needs more than anything else, it's leadership.... Burt Nanus and Stephen Dobbs illustrate the qualities that do 'make a difference' by telling real-life stories of exceptional nonprofit leaders--few of them household names--and examining the lessons these men and women learned the hard way."
--Dorothy S. Ridings, president and CEO, Council on Foundations

There are many books on leadership, but few that focus specifically on the unique role of nonprofit executives. For the CEOs and directors of more than one million U.S. social sector organizations--as well as those who aspire to these positions--best-selling author Burt Nanus and colleague Stephen M. Dobbs have written the first comprehensive and authoritative book on nonprofit leadership.

The authors show how leaders build successful nonprofit organizations by developing key relationships to improve their performance and move them toward a greater good--such as much higher levels of service to their clients and community. They describe the six key roles that effective leaders must play--Visionary, Strategist, Change Agent, Coach, Politician, and Fundraiser--and present inspiring examples of how their actions in these roles have been crucial to the success of large and small nonprofits flourishing across the nation. Leaders Who Make a Difference offers proven lessons on strategy, team building, fundraising, advocacy, board relations, and much more. Grounded in real-world practice, the book champions the potential of all nonprofit leaders to greatly improve the performance of their organizations and realize their visions of better communities.

Genres: Leadership

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 17, 1999

Reviews

[Audrey Easley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A colleague gave this book to me as a gift, and I couldn't be more thankful for it. This is the first time I've read a book specifically addressing leadership within the non-profit culture. I found it succinct, well organized, and it answered many questions I had that may seem obvious to anyone who has worked in the this environment for many years.

I found it to be a fantastic introduction to how non-profits are structured, the impact they have, the role of the CEO and the board and how the decisions people make impact not only the organization itself, but its surrounding community as a whole. It's been a valuable tool that has allowed me to exercise a broader, more accurate vocabulary that has allowed me to communicate more effectively with my colleagues, my friends and family, and other professionals. It's also allowed me to better understand news items associated with non-profits in general.

Stylistically, it's written in everyday language and as a result, I found it to be a fast read and easy to reference specific items when I want or need to. While any professional workplace develops its own internal jargon and acronyms that are supposed to expedite communication internally, non-profits seem to be the biggest offenders of creating a language that nobody else in the world can understand.

If you or someone close to you has recently begun working in the non-profit sector, or is considering it as a career move, I highly recommend this book as a way to better understand the basics of non-profits, what they are, how they're structured, and how leadership at every level makes the difference between a miserable professional life and ending everyday at work with a sense that we've made a difference in the lives of the people around us.

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't worked in the non-profit sector for too long, and I knew I definitely needed to do some reading about it, so I picked up this book at the library pretty much because it was one of the few books there focusing on nonprofits. 99% of books on "business" or "leadership" are completely terrible, so it's always a surprise to find a good one, and this is definitely one of the good ones. It's really a great introduction to the idea of leadership in the non-profit world and what the role of the leader should be. Each chapter speaks of the leader in a different role - as visionary, as strategist, as campaigner, etc. The authors use examples of real nonprofit leaders, which definitely help to illustrate the point. Some may find this book too basic, but it was at the perfect level for me. Highly recommended for people new to the nonprofit field, even those not in a leadership role.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read. I completely agree!