In these turbulent times for our sector, charities need the security of highly effective leaders who are able to provide strategic, tactical and psychological safety to keep their organisations afloat and flourishing. 

The more uncertain the external environment, the more staff will look to leaders to provide them with all of the answers. And in turn, the more pressure that senior leaders find themselves under, the more they look to leadership programmes to give them clear instructions about how to lead and how to reassure their staff.

There are no easy answers when it comes to leadership. It’s essential to understand the underlying frameworks, ideas, principles and mind sets that underpin leadership practice because these provide an anchor for knowing how to go about tackling future leadership dilemmas collaboratively with staff in an uncertain world.

These are the five “anchor” questions that we should consider:

Leadership for what strategic purpose?

The field of strategic leadership offers a wealth of visual models and frameworks that enable leaders to sharpen their focus, organise their thoughts, and hone their decision-making so they are able to identify an appropriate course of action. Most importantly, these frameworks are a vehicle for generative conversations with trustees, executive, staff, volunteers and stakeholders, to tap into their wisdom and passion, and align organisational thinking.

What are the qualities of outstanding leadership?

There is a wide body of research available to evidence the general leadership competencies and behaviours that are effective in contemporary organisations. Providing 360 feedback using The Work Foundation’s Outstanding Leadership Framework organises these leadership qualities in an accessible format. 360 feedback coaching brings these qualities to life, draws on the insights and perceptions of participants’ colleagues up, across, down and outside of their organisations, and gives participants an opportunity to gauge how effectively they actually apply their knowledge of leadership in the workplace, and how well this fits their current working environment.

How does leadership ‘work’?

For staff to flourish they need to know that their needs are ‘borne in mind’ by their leaders so that they can be freed up themselves: to think, critique, and create at their best; to be resourceful, develop, and learn from experience; to resolve problems, to work at full capacity and feel appropriately stretched whilst protecting themselves from undue stress; and to collaborate, negotiate and enjoy relative autonomy whilst taking account of others.

This sense in staff of needing to feel understood in order to flourish is so essential to leadership that it’s not possible to simply teach leadership behaviours by rote. Leaders have to get beyond thinking in terms of behaviours to grasp the underlying intentions - to practice their roles with a grit and authenticity that demonstrates that they really do understand what motivates their staff, and really do want them to flourish in the workplace and to succeed in their roles.

How do I develop leadership in myself and others?

Sophisticated leaders are able to grasp the full complexity of their organisations. They can read the culture and climate, and have the talent to observe what fits their specific settings. They can flex and adapt their approaches accordingly, experimenting wisely, think systemically, and anticipate the intended and unintended consequences of their actions.

What is my leadership role in all of this?

Many new chief executives disclose that they feel like imposters who are undeserving of their appointments. On our professional development programmes here at Cass, we encourage participants to get beyond the mind set of “do I really deserve this?”, and instead to recognise that their charities need them to take up their authority and to wholeheartedly embrace the role for the security and wellbeing of their organisations. Passion for leadership and confidence in your current role in addition to an enduring peer support network can be vital tools in understanding your leadership role. Senior leadership roles make a great difference in the world.

James Barrett is joint programme lead for leadership development at Cass Centre for Charity Effectiveness.

Civil Society Media would like to thank Cass CCE for its support with this article.