Grant Writing & Funding · Ep. 215: Leadership Skills to Develop when transitioning to a Nonprofit Executive Career

Leadership Skills to Develop when transitioning to a Nonprofit Executive Career

You might be thinking about transitioning into the nonprofit world for a new career. Or you may be thinking it is time to advance up the ranks within your nonprofit organization. Or you may be thinking about starting out your career as a nonprofit leader.

If any of the above resonates with you, you will want to listen or watch this week’s podcast episode. Why?

Dr. Patton McDowell shares specific tips on how to develop leadership skills to transition into a nonprofit executive career. These are golden tips that you can immediately apply to advance your career. As we are experiencing the Great Resignation the nonprofit sector is getting a lot of attention. Many people are tuning in to more meaningful work, flexible schedules, or just wanting a change.

All in all, leadership skills are required in executive positions within nonprofit organizations. It’s not just about being passionate or being the founder. It is about knowing how to run a nonprofit organization. But it doesn’t have to take years to build up specific nonprofit leadership skills.

Watch the full interview here!

What We Discuss In This Episode:

3 areas for lateral entry in nonprofit organizations
How to understand philanthropy
Making sense of volunteer management
Understanding governance for a working board of directors
What to do if you hit a glass ceiling
How to know if you should move laterally to move up the executive ladder
Vital questions to self-assess what skills you need to develop
Areas of nonprofit expertise to learn when shifting from the corporate world
The current job market (2022) and what folks are looking for when switching to the nonprofit sector
The huge movement of GenZ moving into the nonprofit world as a career
How nonprofits provide economic contribution to the GDP
Patton’s new book!

About Patton

Patton McDowell is a nonprofit expert, author, speaker and coach. He leads PMA Nonprofit Leadership, a consulting practice he founded after his successful twenty-year career in the nonprofit sector. His leadership experience includes work at Special Olympics International and Special Olympics North Carolina, and he led fundraising teams at a public and a private university. He is a frequently sought-after consultant and speaker on nonprofit issues of strategic planning, organizational development and staff & board leadership. Patton received a BA from UNC Chapel Hill, an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte, and a Doctorate from the University of Southern California. He’s a Certified Fundraising Executive and a Master Trainer for AFP International.

Having worked with over 250 nonprofit organizations, Patton recognized the need for skilled leadership in this increasingly complex and quickly expanding sector. He was determined to provide a practical guide to help anyone in – or pondering – nonprofit leadership define their goals and give them a clear path to achieve them, motivating him to write, Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership: Seven Keys to Advancing Your Career in the Philanthropic Sector.