Key Topic: Leadership Development

Introduction to Leadership Development

There are specific challenges associated with leadership development in the context of the civil society sector, partly due to rapidly changing contexts and the pressures to respond both to the demands of donors and the needs of local communities. Some of the issues associated with the development of new or alternative approaches include:

Nature of Leadership

• What is the nature of leadership within the NGO sector? Is it different from other sectors? Are there people within organisations which contribute towards leadership but aren’t leaders themselves? Do we need a more nuanced understanding of followership?

Approaches to Leadership Development

• Are the leadership development approaches currently used effective? What are the factors that cause leaders to change behaviour? How can we better adapt approaches to respond better to the needs of the sector? Will this involve moving beyond conventional consultancy and training?

Leadership in Different Cultures and Contexts

• In what way do different cultures and contexts impact on leadership, e.g. at personal, organisational, and societal levels? How can approaches be tailored to respond these differences and recognise the multi-dimensional nature of leadership?

Experiences from Practice

New Praxis Publications are now available!

Praxis Note 27 Executive Coaching for Leadership Development By William Ogara

Praxis Note 25 Learning Leadership Development from African Cultures: A Personal Perspective By Chiku Malunga

Praxis Paper 10: Praxis Paper 10 NGO Leadership Development: A Review of the Literature By John Hailey

Praxis Paper 6: Praxis Paper 6 Realities of Change: Understanding How African NGO Leaders Develop By Rick James with Julius Oladipo, Moses Isooba, Betsy Mboizi and Ida Kusiima.

Praxis Note 17: Vision Quest: Learning about Leadership Development in Malawi By Rick James.

Praxis Note 14: Autocratics Anonymous: A Controversial Perspective on Leadership Development By Rick James.

Do you have any practical experiences relating to these issues that you would like to share? Please click on Edit Page to add them here or contact us at praxis@intrac.org if you would like to write up your experiences as a Praxis Note.

References and Links

Please click on Edit Page to add to this list and create an evolving resource

Adair.J, 2002, “Effective Strategic Leadership”, London, McMillan

Allison.M, 2002, “Into the Fire: Boards and Executive Transitions”, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, Vol.12.4, pp.341–351

Bennis. W & Nanus.B, 2004, “Leaders”, HarperCollins, NYC.

Bolton, M & Abdy,M, 2003, “Leadership”, London, ACEVO

Chambers.R, 1997, “Whose Reality Counts: Putting the First Last”, IT Publications, London

Civicus, Aug 2002, “Connecting Civil Society Worldwide”, Newsletter No 175, Johannesburg

Eade.D, 2000, “Development & Management”, Oxfam, Oxford

Edwards.M, February 1999, “NGO Performance – What Breeds Success? New evidence from South Asia”, World Development, Vol. 27.2

Fowler.A, Ng’ethe, Owiti.J, 2002, “Determinants of Civic Leadership in Kenya”, IDS Working Paper, University of Nairobi, Nairobi

Fowler.A, 1997, “Striking a Balance: A Guide to Enhancing the Effectiveness of NGOs in International Development”, Earthscan, London

Goleman,D, 1996, “Emotional Intelligence”, Bloomsbury, London

Hailey.J, 1999, “Charismatic Autocrats or Development Leaders”, paper presented to the Development Studies Association Conference, Bath.

Hailey.J, 2000, “Learning NGOs” in Lewis.D & Wallace.T, New Roles and Relevance: Development NGOs and the Challenge of Change, Kumarian, West Hartford, Conn.

Hailey.J, 2002, “Development Leaders: Issues in NGO Leadership”, paper presented to the Paper for EIASM Conference on Leadership Research, Oxford

Hailey.J & James.R, 2002, “Learning Leaders: The Key to Learning Organisations”, Development in Practice, Vo.12.3, pp.398–408

Hailey.J & James.R, 2004, “Trees Die From The Top: International Perspectives on NGO Leadership Development”, Voluntas, Vol.15.4, pp.343–353

Haslam, A. (2001), “Psychology in Organisations: The Social Identity Approach”, London: Sage.

IFCB (1998) and (2001), “Southern NGO Capacity building: Issues and Priorities”. New Delhi: PRIA.

Jackson,T, 2004, “Cross-Cultural Management and NGO Capacity Building”, PraxisNotes 1-4, INTRAC

James, R. 2003. Leaders Changing Inside-Out. OPS 43, INTRAC

James, R. 2002, “People and Change: Exploring Capacity Building in African NGOs”, INTRAC, Oxford

James, R., and Mullins, D., 2004, “Supporting NGO Partners Affected by AIDS, Development in Practice”, Oxford, June.

James, R., 2004, “The Crushing Impact of HIV/AIDS on Leadership in Africa”, Praxis Notes 10, INTRAC.

Kelleher.D & McLaren.K, 1996, “Grabbing the Tiger by the Tail: NGO Learning for Organisational Change”, Canadian Council for International Cooperation, Ottawa

Kotter.J, 1996, “Leading Change”, Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, Mass

Lewis.D, 2001, “Management of Non-Governmental Development Organisations: An Introduction”, Routledge, London

Smillie.I & Hailey.J, 2001, “Managing for Change: Leadership, Strategy and Management in Asian NGOs”, Earthscan, London

Smillie.I, 1995, “The Alms Bazaar”, IT Publications, London

Uphoff.N & Esman.M, 1998, “Reasons for Success: Learning from Instructive Experiences in Rural Development”, Kumarian, West Hartford, Conn.

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