A Foundation Supporting Urban Health Initiatives  in a Large Canadian City: Development of a Comprehensive Training Program in Leadership for Non-profits

1. The Situation

This organization is committed to advancing urban health and had undertaken considerable research to identify the challenges facing non-profit organizations (NPO) providing services in this area. They had determined that the leadership of these organizations needed to be supported and strengthened.

2. The Approach

Working collaboratively with the client with input from a group of potential participants, we developed a comprehensive Executive Leadership Program for executive directors and board members. Extending over nine months, each segment of the program consisted of one and a half days of classroom training combined with individual coaching for each training participant once a month.

The program focused on building the core management skills required for non-profit management, as well as helping participants address the leadership challenges related to reductions in funding and  “donor fatigue”. A major goal of the program was to seed changes in participants and their management approaches that would take root back in their home organizations, and more widely in the NPO sector.

Pre-and post evaluations were conducted to assess the extent to which changes in knowledge, skills, workplace behaviours and organizational performance were impacted by the experience in the program.

3. Results

Program assessment included extensive qualitative and quantitative evaluations using Kirkpatrick’s (1994) four level evaluation model. This approach evaluates whether the program has met it stated objectives, as well as the impact of the program on on-the –job behaviors as well as the degree to which this may have affected any bottom line improvements for the organization.

The evaluation indicated that the program validated participants’ existing skills as well as increasing their confidence and comfort with leadership roles and the ability to apply power positively. Participants also reported increased insight into others’ points of view and enhanced competencies to surface mental models, plan more effectively, resolve conflict, manage their staff, look after their self-care and respond to change.

Moreover, participants noted numerous improvements in their agency’s “bottom line” including:

• Significant improvements to funding–with a sense of better long-term financial stability
• Infrastructure improvements (such as systems for strategic planning and performance management)
• A higher agency profile with funders and within the community and/or sector
• Improvements in union-management relationships within the workplace
• Increased personal recognition for participants by their agency, board, and/or funders

While the participants did not attribute these outcomes solely to attendance at the program, they all indicated that at minimum the program supported these improvements.