Many CEOs or directors of Not For Profits have arrived at their current board room via a circuitous route, often spending many years in the corporate world.
Contrary to perhaps popular belief, they are not necessarily solely driven by a higher vision to ‘do good’. Of course, this is part of the story for many, but the driving force of successful and inspirational NFP leaders is to make their organisations fiscally strong, relay the vision for future growth and ‘walk the talk’.
In a short series of articles, we share some of the motivations of WA’s NFP CEOs, and an insight into what drives these leaders of one of the most challenging corporate sectors.
Chris Smith CEO,Foundation Housing
What’s your motivator?
For Foundation Housing’s CEO, Chris Smith, the requirement to have a shared skillset with corporate leaders in terms of having good financial and business management abilities, and always acting in the best interest of the business, is clear.
However, what sets the CEO of an NFP apart from that of a corporate world is something a little subtler and revolves around a different set of motivators.
“They are not renumerated or motivated by financial bonuses or performance,” said Mr Smith. “As a result, they are more mission-focused on their roles which distinguishes them from a commercial or corporate entity that has heavy and short-term incentives for their senior executives.”
For many, corporate leaders make the switch to NFPs when their heart is in it, believes Mr Smith – essentially, because ‘they want to’
“The rewards are far greater in helping people have better lives and achieve their outcomes because of the work your organisation does, as opposed to making more money or inventing new technology.”
Making the leap to the NFP world
For some NFP CEOs, there was a definite moment in time – a turning point – when they realised they wanted something more from their corporate lives. For Foundation Housing’s Chris Smith, it was the feeling of a disconnect between people achieving their results and not getting rewarded for it.
“I first began working at a NFP by default, when I was referred to a position at an organisation by an Aboriginal man I was working with at the time,” he said.
“Throughout my time working for this organisation, I saw the different ways that corporate entities and individuals were taking advantage of Aboriginal people. I was able to bring my commercial experience to negotiate and achieve much better outcomes for the communities I was working with and draw an end to the inappropriate practices that I had previously been exposed to.
“These results were far more rewarding than any financial bonus and I have stayed in the NFP sector ever since.”
Bringing corporate experience to the NFP sector
Like any business entity, measuring success is an essential part of a CEO’s arsenal of abilities. Mr Smith believes these can be measured in three key areas including being able to fund a financially sustainable business and insulate the business from external risks.
Secondly, the capacity to influence key decision and policy makers to make better decisions for the people we are employed to service is a measurable benchmark, says Mr Smith.
“If our influence sees more properties being built and more people being housed, then that is a good outcome,” he said.
Finally, growing the NFP’s portfolio is a key component.
“The more we grow our infrastructure base, the more people we can house and this is a great measure of success,” he said.
“On a personal level, a high level of staff engagement – when staff who work in our business would rate it above the industry benchmark and genuinely enjoy working with our organisation and under our leadership is a key indicator of success for me,” said Mr Smith.
Others include financial performance, including meeting targets and growing the balance sheet, and tenant engagement.
“How satisfied our tenants are with the service and support the organisation provides, which we measure through our biennial tenant engagement survey, is also a vital indicator of whether I’ve been successful in the role.”
