What characteristics should a leader or director if a not-for-profit possess?

sorry, FOR a not-for-profit. I'm in high school and looking into careers for after college.

Many nonprofits have two leaders: one is the visionary and one is the manager. Nonprofit theaters, for instance, usually have an artistic director who picks the shows, makes final decisions regarding casting and designers, etc., and is seen as the "face" of the theater, while the executive director is ultimately responsible for office human resources, marketing, fund raising, box office management, etc. Or a homeless alliance may have a leader who speaks eloquently about the needs of the homeless of the work of the organization, and be an expert on what they need, but have a managing director who is responsible for all of the administrative support that make that happen.

A leader of a nonprofit needs to be an expert in what the nonprofit does. For instance, if the organization works with children, he or she needs to have a lot of experience in the needs of children, probably a Master's in Child Psychology or Education, etc. The manager of the nonprofit (which may or may not be the same person) needs to know the basics of financial management (particularly how to read a quarterly financial report), human resources management (particularly basic policies and procedures), and a great deal about fund raising. The leader(s) of a nonprofit need to have all this and more: they need to be inspirational when talking and writing about their organizations, know how to talk about the organization's success and possibilities for the future rather than a desperation for funds, and know how to hire the best people to get the work done.

There are lots of people with passion and good hearts, but it's the people who know how to lead and to manage with credibility and responsibility, and are experts in whatever cause they want to address, that become nonprofit leaders.

Ability to write grants.

Run board meetings.

Network with other agencies.

Stay current on budgets and policy.

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