May Issue of Leadership Matters Provides Insight How Nonprofit Organizations Can Mold Next Generation of Leadership

May 19, 2005 -- Are great leaders born that way or are they molded by their experience In her new book Career Imprints: Creating Leaders Across An Industry (Jossey-Bass, April 2005), Harvard Business School Associate Professor Monica Higgins says her extensive research shows that senior managers and leaders are shaped by people - a mentor, role model, even an adversary - and by organizations in which they work. Usually occurring at the beginning of careers, in a process she calls " career imprinting ," Higgins says that important influences are the result of organization's systems, structure, strategy, and culture that employees take with them throughout their careers.

In an interview in the current issue of Leadership Matters, Higgins tells nonprofit leaders to evaluate how their organizations imprint employees so they can better recruit, and develop next-generation executives. "Career imprinting is the process by which people in organizations cultivate and acquire common sets of skills and characteristics," which is not the same as an organization's culture, says Higgins, the head of Harvard's Building Career Foundations Project. "Having a strong organizational culture can strengthen the career imprinting process," which her research found is based on 4Cs:

- "Capabilities, which are the skill sets we acquire";
- "Connections, or networks and alliances";
- "Confidence regarding particular ways of learning"; and
- "Cognition - what we learn or assume about the best ways in which to work in order to accomplish our objectives."

Understanding career imprints is important for individuals, too, adds Higgins. Being aware of career imprinting can help individuals be better informed about the career choices they make. "In order to assure that they make good choices, imprint-conscious job seekers will participate actively in the interview process - asking questions about career paths, prospective colleagues' experiences, etc. But they will also go beyond that, researching organizations' alumni to identify patterns suggesting certain types of career imprints and evaluating whether there is a good fit."

"Career Imprinting: A Conversation with Professor Monica Higgins" is available at http://capella.bridgestar.org/newsletters/May2005/default.htm.

Each month Leadership Matters, published by Bridgestar (www.bridgestar.org), a nonprofit that helps recruit talented senior leadership for nonprofits, picks a different theme designed as a conversation about how to build and sustain effective nonprofit organizations. Previous issues have offered case studies of business executives who switched to nonprofit organizations, Bridgestar's comprehensive "Guide to Navigating the Hiring Process," and other topics important to senior nonprofit leaders. "Leadership Matters" is available to all Bridgestar members or, for a complimentary subscription, please email e-mail protected from spam bots.

In addition to Leadership Matters and complementary articles and tools that can be found at www.bridgestar.org, Bridgestar offers executive search and talent-matching advisory services, a job board, board-introduction services and a Chief Operating Officer LISTSERV that grew out of the need of nonprofit COOs to connect and share their questions and ideas. An initiative of the Bridgespan Group, Bridgestar has seen its membership exceed 6,000 individuals and 900 organizations in 17 months.

"Monica Higgins has spent considerable time researching what influences careers and career-building decisions. Her findings have important implications for individuals and organizations in the nonprofit sector," said David Simms, Bridgestar managing partner. "The nonprofit sector will soon reach a critical crossroad, when baby boomers start retiring from senior management positions. As a sector, we must understand and implement processes that help develop great leaders to succeed them."

About Bridgestar
Bridgestar (www.bridgestar.org), an initiative of the Bridgespan Group, is a nonprofit organization building a member-driven community of individuals and organizations working to strengthen their careers, their institutions, and the nonprofit sector. Established in 2003, Bridgestar's goal is to attract, connect and support senior leaders - established and aspiring - for greater effectiveness and social impact.

May Issue of Leadership Matters Provides Insight How Nonprofit Organizations Can Mold Next Generation of Leadership

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May Issue of Leadership Matters Provides Insight How Nonprofit Organizations Can Mold Next Generation of Leadership

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