New research reveals an abundance of untapped potential for leadership development in the social sector. Despite the complex challenges facing the charity sector, many organisations are not accessing and engaging with opportunities to develop the leadership capabilities and relationships necessary to tackle them. A new Clore Social Leadership research report suggested the key reasons for this are 'cost, time and confusion'. Public perceptions of leadership still remain associated with 'status, hierarchy and heroism'.
A possible solution? According to the report, “the interviews highlighted a firm belief that leadership development should be available to everyone – not just ‘elites’.” Many individuals possess the desire to create opportunities to learn from others within and across sectors through peer-to-peer learning and mentoring.The research calls for a “generous and smart exchange mechanism in which social sector leaders can participate and support leadership development.” This is the approach that Caplor Horizons believes in.
One organisation that has benefitted from leadership development support is Quench. Quench is a social enterprise hub in Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK. It aims to ignite social businesses and support social entrepreneurs. It is also developing mentoring services for excluded school age children and communal meeting services for the elderly and lonely in the community. In 2019, Caplor Horizons have been providing regular support to Quench in 3 ways:
Coaching on a monthly basis of the 3 senior leaders;
Leadership and strategy inputs
Two presentations on the 'Innovia' programme which provides support to social enterprises: these focus on (i) Customer Discovery and Acquisition; (ii) Social Innovation, Impact and Profit. Pictured below are some of the participants from the programme.
Simon Sinek Quote: “The responsibility of leadership is not to come up with all the ideas. The responsibility of leadership is to create an environment in which great ideas can thrive”