Neelam Makhijani on effective leadership and fundraising
Howard Lake | 30 May 2014 | Blogs
As she steps down as Resource Alliance chief executive Neelam Makhijani reflects on the role of effective leadership in enhancing fundraising results.
Effective, demonstrable leadership is obviously very important for any area of an organisation, not just fundraising. However, if fundraisers are able to apply some general principles of leadership to their day-to-day work they will see positive results, not only in terms of money raised, but across all aspects of their charity.
To achieve great fundraising requires having great leadership. This is not simply a matter of focusing on objectives and targets, but about setting a vision for the organisation and sharing it clearly with everyone else who has a role to play.
Much depends on building a strong team. This can often be one of the biggest challenges, and it is always worth remembering that while talented individuals can make a difference, they are not bigger than the organisation or the cause. Ultimately when it comes to success it’s not them centre stage – beneficiaries and donors are the ones who should always take the spotlight.
But how best can leaders enthuse people in their team? Having charisma is very important. Leaders need to be able to impress and carry people with them. It is about providing staff and volunteers – and donors too – with vision, inspiration and motivation, and with the tools they need to deliver their goals as individuals. The sign of a successful leader is that the organisation will continue to be effective even when the leader is no longer there; the momentum set in place will be maintained.
How can leadership success be defined? It can of course be measured by the amount of money sitting in the bank, but it’s also important to consider the journey a leader has travelled and the overall outcome for the organisation and its causal area. This is about creating goodwill and respect internally as well as externally. If the leader demonstrated real passion and a clear strategic plan then it is more likely that success will have been achieved.
And finally of course, effective leadership requires a willingness to change, learn and evolve. Good leaders will never be complacent, but will be constantly asking themselves how they can take it to the next level.
Neelam Makhijani worked at The Resource Alliance for 10 years, including serving as chief executive from 2010 until 2014.
This is the first in a series of guest blog posts from The Resource Alliance on the subject of leadership. The second post was Why all fundraisers need to be leaders by David Milton.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.