The Nonprofit Career Ladder: Exploring Career Paths as Leadership Development for Future Nonprofit Executives

• Author: Amanda J. Stewart,Kerry Kuenzi
• Published date: 01 December 2018
• Date: 01 December 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0091026018783022
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026018783022

Public Personnel Management

2018, Vol. 47(4) 359 –381

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0091026018783022

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Article

The Nonprofit Career Ladder:

Exploring Career Paths as

Leadership Development for

Future Nonprofit Executives

Amanda J. Stewart1 and Kerry Kuenzi2

Abstract

Pending leadership transitions in the nonprofit sector present a timely need to understand

the career path to the executive position, but very few studies on nonprofit career

paths have been conducted. A systematic study would help make sense of the existing

leadership pipeline to the executive office and offer promising insights that contribute to

theory building in the sector. This study investigates the career paths of a national random

sample of nonprofit executives serving health and human service nonprofit organizations.

Primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed on the experience, education,

and credentials these executives hold. The analysis evaluates variations among career

characteristics, as well as applies career typologies from within and beyond the nonprofit

sector. Respondents also provided qualitative descriptions of their path to executive

office, which are insightful about influencing factors that are beyond a resume’s depiction

of credentials. The findings are rich in descriptive value and are discussed in light of their

utility for nonprofit boards charged with executive selection responsibilities. Finally,

the findings are also applied to formulate propositions for future research about how

individual career movement may be shaping the nonprofit sector.

Keywords

nonprofit, executives, career paths, leadership development

Once considered the voluntary sector, the nonprofit sector is now staffed by paid pro-

fessionals holding specialized expertise, advanced degrees, and diverse backgrounds.

1North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA

2Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, USA

Corresponding Author:

Amanda J. Stewart, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 8102, Raleigh, NC 27695-8102, USA.

Email: Ajstewa5@ncsu.edu

783022PPMXXX10.1177/0091026018783022Public Personnel ManagementStewart and Kuenzi

research-article2018

360 Public Personnel Management 47(4)

This diffusion of a professional class has been compelled by isomorphic pressures

from the public and for-profit sectors to be more businesslike given accountability

pressures and scarce resources and has potentially shifted the sector from its value-

driven nature to more of an instrumental logic (Frumkin, 2009; Salamon, 2003/2012;

Suarez, 2010; Wilensky, 1964). Alongside this trend of professionalization are con-

cerns that nonprofits are ill-prepared for a mass exodus of baby boomers from the

workforce and from the executive position more specifically. Given the role that non-

profits play in their communities and an increasing reliance on nonprofits to deliver

government services, this leadership crisis could have far-reaching implications not

only for the organizations but also for the communities they serve (Tierney, 2006).

Nonprofit boards are responsible for hiring and supervising executives, and as part

of an executive appointment, boards are challenged to identify the right mix of experi-

ence, education, and commitment to organizational mission that meets their leadership

needs. Who fills the top position of a nonprofit is a statement of board preferences, and

looking across nonprofits at the profile of their executives is telling about the personal

and professional background of nonprofit executives deemed appropriate for the posi-

tion. Identifying these characteristics deemed promotable, and the paths of promotion

is also critical to cultivating leadership development opportunities that could help fill

the sector’s “leadership deficit” (Tierney, 2006). Beyond the resume listing of qualifi-

cations, the career paths that led the executive to the top paid position—whether it be

based on intentional decisions or happenstance opportunities—explain the nonprofit

leadership pipeline. Although for-profit and public executive career paths have been

empirically examined, similar inquiry about nonprofit executive careers has been lim-

ited to examining professional backgrounds or demographic characteristics without

looking holistically at factors that contribute to an individual’s career development

(e.g., see Norris-Tirrell, Rinella, & Pham, 2018; Suarez, 2010).

Career paths have been studied to understand patterns of movement and promotion,

and how these patterns influence the socialization of professionals (Abbott, 1988;

Smith & Martinez-Moyano, 2015). Patterns also inform typologies that can be used to

predict and explain career movement, such as preferred degrees and prior experience

that prepares professionals for leadership (Gates et al., 2004). Therefore, the study of

nonprofit career paths is ripe both to fill the literature lacuna and to identify ideal char-

acteristics of a nonprofit executive. This research study seeks to fill this gap by identi-

fying defining characteristics of nonprofit executive careers, identifying primary paths

to the executive position, and identifying influential factors that shaped these paths.

This study utilizes a unique panel dataset of nonprofit executive careers, inclusive

of career experiences, educational backgrounds, and other means of career socializa-

tion. The longitudinal data assign annually education or employment for each non-

profit executive, and in doing so, yields a career path for executives beginning with

higher education degrees and ending with the most recent year available. We then

apply typologies from previous research to make sense of these career paths, and in

doing so, identify common patterns that explain the nonprofit career ladder. Finally,

we used a survey among these executives to understand influential factors shaping

their career paths, and by inviting the executives to explain their career paths