Generative Leadership: A New Lens for Leadership Development

By Paul L. Dann, PhD, Executive Director, NFI North

When we think about nonprofits today one thing becomes readily apparent; organizational life is becoming increasingly complex (Bennet & Bennet, 2004). There was a time when we operated programs and services from a single funding source, designed to treat a specific population, at a single location. In this context the traditional forms of leadership, born of positional authority and steeped in hierarchy were sufficient to keep things rolling along. Today we find a different paradigm. Multiple funding streams and greater consumer complexity with services delivered across time and distance have placed great strain on traditional forms of leadership.  

In response to the changes in the operating environment, new and emergent leadership models have begun to take hold. In each, the goal is a leadership practice that is found within all employees and at all levels of the organization. Imagine the power of an organization that has successfully engaged its entire workforce in effective leadership!

This is where the generative leadership model makes its entrance. The research that formed the foundation for the model focused on answering the question - "How is leadership behavior co-created between and among team members?" The findings provide a road map for considering leadership development in action.

Six core and seven sub themes serve as the heart of the model. The core themes in order of prevalence are expectations, communication and feedback, leadership attributes, trust, risk taking and the opportunity to engage in leadership practice.

Trust also played a significant role in the generation of leadership. Taking on leadership behavior was seen as a risky endeavor, one that required the presence of trust within and between the team and the positional leader. With trust comes the willingness to take on risk and engage in leadership action. And finally, the research showed that individuals, in order to developed their leadership behavior, needed the opportunity to practice or exercise leadership activity. Just as muscle tissue requires exercise to grow, the creation of leadership is dependent on the opportunity to engage in leadership behavior.

The sub themes relate closely to the core themes and provide a richer view of leadership development in action. They are having voice, commitment, perceived need to act, organizational philosophy and practice, role modeling, shared beliefs and values, and structure.

Taken together, the model provides a road map for considering how to advance leadership throughout the organization, unleashing the potential for effective leadership that meets the challenges that now confront our ever-more complex nonprofit organizations.

NAFI/NFI Staff Draw on Inside Expertise to Strengthen their Knowledge Base and Make Connections

NAFI Turns At-Risk Youth into Community Leaders with the Youth Leadership Academy

By Jay Paris, Director of Youth Link

NAFI/NFI's cutting edge prevention initiative, Youth Link, continues to advance in the police world as its Youth & Police Initiative (YPI) gains popularity across the eastern US and most recently even Bermuda and Belize. The YPI process turns powerful, shared experiences between kids from troubled neighborhoods and the beat officers that patrol them into important breakthroughs. New understandings about the law, better communication and genuine relationships replace distrust and antipathy.

But in many cities where YPI has been offered, our local non-profit partners have asked for additional ways to expand the gains produced by YPI. In response, Paul Lewis, Youth Link's Director of Training, created the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA).

The YLA can be configured as a three, four or six-month training for YPI graduates who seek to expand leadership and conflict resolution skills, job readiness and ability to give back to their communities. In Boston, YLA has an established presence at the Franklin Field Public Housing Development in Dorchester, led by former chef, Matthew Swartz. His culinary arts program has graduated over a hundred youth, many who have found part or full time work in the food industry (see YouTube: YPI Culinary Arts Program ). Additionally, these grads joined Swartz in operating a profit-sharing catering business that serves outstanding Spanish cuisine at small luncheon events around Boston.

In Providence, the first class of YLA youth graduated last summer. Seventeen boys living in four housing developments stood proudly in coats and ties donated by JoS A. Bank to receive their diplomas from the Mayor, the head of the Providence Housing Authority and the head of the police department. A second, all-female class is planned for later in the year. Finally, in Bermuda, YLA has taken yet a different turn, serving graduates of YPI in a specially designated Youth Empowerment Zone on the north side of Hamilton where many murders have occurred in the last few years.

The strength of YLA is its adaptability. The NAFI Youth Link team has tailored its application to fit the needs of the recipient communities in an effort to develop new ways for YPI grads living in high poverty neighborhoods to expand their abilities and skill sets.

Sidebar on Franklin Field, Boston 

Leon Barnes was one of Franklin Field's first Youth and Police Initiative graduates in 2008. He was also the first young person to graduate from the Youth Leadership Academy culinary program, and the first to receive a college scholarship from the previously violent Franklin Field Housing Development. But Leon's success chartered the way for others who now number in the dozens. But what impresses Matthew Swartz, Youth Link's head of operations at Franklin Field, is that the most of these Youth Link program graduates keep coming back to help other kids. "Leon was the first to return," said Swartz. "But on any night of the week, you will find many of our YLA grads in the computer lab at our Teen Center, or elsewhere in the building role modeling how to behave for the younger kids. Lots of people talk leadership. What separates YLA from the pack is that we give young people a chance to practice it."