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At some point in the process of recruiting a new leader, the hiring committee will come together to discuss the traits and behaviours candidates need to be successful in the role. At or near the top of that list is likely to be “an innovator”- someone who can bring a new perspective, who isn’t afraid to try and fail, who is on top of new trends and tools, and who’s eager to bring new ideas to the table.
Earlier this year, the Forbes Nonprofit Council published a list of nonprofit trends that they predict will dominate the industry in 2024. Not surprisingly, innovation made the list. Indeed, with the speed of change in the world today, an innovative mindset has become table stakes for organizations looking to recruit leaders who can move their mission, growth, and performance forward.
Here are three areas that purpose and mission-driven organization can focus on to help prioritize innovation when talking with leadership candidates:
- Technology implementation
The pace at which technology is evolving is incredible – and so is its potential to drive success for nonprofit and social impact organizations. Asking leadership candidates about their perspective on technology and related tools (like AI) will help uncover their familiarity with what’s happening in this space. Talking about how they’d apply new tools to your organization (or how they’ve implemented these types of changes in the past) can also give you a sense of their comfort level with change and with technology – and help you understand their vision for the future of your organization.
- Developing/identifying new pipelines
Finding new channels of support is an ongoing challenge for purpose and mission-driven organizations - the number of donors continues to decline, as does the number of Americans volunteering their time, and corporate giving priorities are constantly shifting. Understanding a candidate’s approach to developing existing pipelines – and building new ones - will show you how creative they can be when it comes to leveraging opportunities – and overcoming challenges. Asking them how they’d approach donor/volunteer/partner challenges specific to your organization’s current situation will also let you know how well they know your organization and your space.
- Retaining top talent
Fierce competition for top talent is just one reason nonprofits and social impact organizations need to be focused on retaining (and developing) the talent that they have in-house – both senior leaders as well as up-and-coming stars. Candidates who don’t have a retention strategy, or who have a strategy that doesn’t account for the changing values and expectations of today’s talent, may not be the best long-term fit for an organization looking to succeed in today’s market. Including questions about how candidates have been (or might be) innovative when it comes to leveraging resources to develop and grow current staff will help you better understand their approach to the people side of the organization.
For more than 20 years, the executive search experts at DRiWaterstone have been helping nonprofit and social impact organizations across the United States recruit innovative leaders who move their mission and performance forward. Connect with us to find out how we can help prioritize innovation in your next search.
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["post_title"]=>
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