Not long ago we were invited to work with an executive director and board members who were experiencing a clash.  The board’s proposed solution was to increase the amount of time it met in executive session. The executive director proposed to reduce his input to formal monthly reports. Needless to say, both proposals constituted one miserable formula for any mission achievement in that single organization.

So what can transpire when leaders from multiple organizations and multiple sectors come together to move the needle on a seemingly intractable social issue? What leadership characteristics support collective advancement? What characteristics stand in the way?

As committed as you may be to the five conditions required for successful collective impact (see Kania and Kramer’s Collective Impact), collective action also demands that the participants are equipped with an authentic desire to be curious, welcome different ideas and forge a common agenda that may require compromise. Leaders need to be willing to strive for jointly agreed upon measurable outcomes that will undoubtedly change their usual way of working. They will need to stay connected and in communication with collaborators including those with whom they disagree.

Over the past three years, MAP has studied what makes for successful leadership, resulting in this profile: The effective leader is one who mobilizes self and others to tackle tough challenges while keeping the societal issue at the center of the work. Such leadership rests on keen emotional intelligence including self-awareness, self-management, and relationship skills.  Studies have shown, in fact, that emotional intelligence is twice as important as IQ and technical skills combined as a predictor of leadership success. Leaders who are interested in producing collective impact will require all the skills named above. Sound too hard? The good news is that these skills can be developed and strengthened through intentional learning and practice.

Imagine leaders working together to reduce poverty in a particular community. How might this play out for them?  These characteristics will pave the way.

Commitment. Not to organizational turf and boundaries but to the issue that demands a fresh approach and a different resolution.

Self-awareness. Clarity about one’s own values, strengths and vulnerabilities, and about how these align with current reality.

Self-management. Ability to build on what we know about ourselves to manage our emotions in the heat of the moment, clearing the way for our best thinking.

Relationship skills. Genuine interest in others, empathy, and ability to connect authentically.

True achievement of large-scale social change through collective work requires not only the right mix of organizing principles (Kania and Kramer), but also the right mix of emotionally intelligent leaders charting the course.

Selected Resources

• “How Resilience Works” by Diane Coutu, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 80, No. 5, May 2002.
• “What Makes a Leader?” by Daniel Goleman, Best of HBR 1998.
• “The Neuroscience of Leadership” by David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz, Strategy+Business, Issue 43, June 2006.
• “Leadership in a (Permanent) Crisis” by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky, Harvard Business Review, July–August 2009.
• “Leaders Coaching Leaders” by Carter McNamara, Leadership Excellence, December 2009.
• Free self-assessment at www.ihhp.com/quiz.php
• “Leadership Skills Start with Self-Awareness” by Bill George
• Extraordinary Groups by Geoffrey Bellman and Kathleen Ryan

Contributors
Judy Alnes, Executive Director and Christie Hammes, Director of Strategic Development Services
MAP for Nonprofits