A few years ago, the nonprofit world started paying a lot of attention to the looming nonprofit leadership “crisis.”
Reports like Daring to Lead looked at the “gap” that’s feared to occur when baby boomer CEO’s begin leaving their jobs in droves, while Ready to Lead? focused on supporting the “next generation” of young nonprofit leaders who would be needed to take their place. Yet once we realized that baby boomers were not, in fact, retiring in great numbers, books like Working Across Generations began to expand the conversation to help us think about how all generations can lead side by side in organizations.
But something about all the research bugged me. As a young leader, I didn’t like how the “next generation” moniker implied that we have to wait for some undetermined time before we can lead. And until then, we have to sit quietly with the other kids and try to catch the crumbs of wisdom and power that fall from the big kid’s table. If that’s what we meant by saying next-generation leaders, I sure didn’t want to be one.
So, earlier this year, I began using the term “now generation leaders” because the reality is that young nonprofit leaders who are typically referenced as the next generation are not as young as people think. We’re not all college kids anymore.
This year the oldest of Generation Y will be 30 years old. We’re no longer the “baby” in the workplace; we’re managers and directors and CEO’s of great organizations.
Then a funny thing happened this weekend in Denver. In an inspirational set of speeches during the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) national conference, two baby-boomer philanthropy executives urged young leaders to think of ourselves in a completely different way. They told us to stop calling ourselves next-generation leaders.
First, Council on Foundations President Steve Gunderson opened the Saturday morning plenary with a strong suggestion for young grant makers.
“EPIP needs to change their tagline from the next generation of grant makers to the now generation of grant makers,” he said. “The future is now.”
Then on Sunday, Gara LaMarche, President of Atlantic Philanthropies, offered this sentiment after being asked to give advice for emerging leaders:
“I don’t look at it that way. I was running things when I was 24. It’s only in the philanthropic sector that we think you have to be older to lead.”
In addition, Mr. LaMarche dismissed the word “emerging.”
“It’s a misconception,” he said. “Young people are already where they need to be, and older people are emerging in every stage of their lives.”
With these two endorsements by respected leaders in philanthropy, I’m hoping that the nonprofit world will do away with the term next generation as it relates to younger leaders.
Although we will certainly be the ones leading tomorrow, we’re also the ones who are already leading today.
4 Responses to The End of the ‘Next Generation’
lsiskin - April 27, 2010 at 8:38 pm
This is a great point about the current young professional leaders. I even apply this line of thinking to teens in the teen philanthropy program I run. I often find myself explaining to “adults” that the choices the teen philanthropists are making are creating change today. Therefore, they are the leaders and change agents of today and we need to treat them as such. I encourage organizations and individuals to think of where teen voices can be useful. I get the most satisfaction when I hear about an organization that has invited teens onto their Board of Directors or onto a specific committee.
lizperry264 - April 29, 2010 at 2:18 pm
It’s time for the older leaders of non-profits to let go of the rudder. While young leaders are invited to the table, they often are not empowered and their voices are discounted. Older and supposedly “wiser” pillars of non-profits, convinced that they know what’s best (whether it’s a church or other kind of organization) will give lip-service to the ideas of younger leaders, but I have witnessed them going behind the backs of committees and boards to ensure that the status quo remains. All non-profits need to name this elephant and get it out of the room.
bill__huddleston - April 29, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I agree with Rosetta’s point about getting away from the term “emerging leader” and I share her point of view that many Generation Y members are capable leaders right now. That said, that’s also true of many baby boomers, whether or not they are currently in a managerial position. Most people do not realize how unique our current situation is (demographically). This is the first time in the history of the world where we have four “named cohorts” (Gen X, Gen Y, Baby Boomers and Greatest Generation) that may be working together in the same organization at the same time. Not to mention the diversity factors, including in addition to obvious ones, the fact that many people with physical disabilities can now do work that was literally impossible without the power of technology. It really is amazing (and challenging).In terms of lizperry264′s comment : It’s not going to happen. Baby boomers are not going to “let go of the rudder” just because you think they should (see paragraph 1). The baby boomer cohort has redefined our society at every age from elementary school to Woodstock to today, they’re not going to retire and go sit in a rocking chair. They may change jobs, change careers, go to some combination of consulting and part-time employment, but plan on having them as part of the overall workforce.That isn’t to say that a 30 year (or younger) should not be the Executive Director or in any other leadership role. I absolutely believe that they should, but just as with all other generations, they have to demonstrate leadership abilities before they will be selected for managerial positions. I know that this then produces the chicken and egg question – if I can’t get a mangerial position, how do I demonstrate my leadership skills?Here’s the answer: Learn them, develop them, and practice them. Here’s the paradox of workplace giving, and why it’s such a great place to actually practice leadership skills. Since the average contribution is small, no one will “blow” a major gift ask when running a workplace giving campaign. The average gift is approximately $125, but I have seen a single gift for $6,000. If you would like my article about using workplace giving as a means of developing non-profit leaders, please send an e-mail to BillHuddleston1 at gmail dot com with “Leadership” in the subject line.Regards,Bill HuddlestonThe CFC Coachwww cfcfundraising dot com
stacyepalmer - May 26, 2010 at 5:37 pm
this is a test of the comment system