The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF), which many find convenient when printing.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Overview of the Importance of this Study
Brief Review of the Literature
Methods
The Full Study
The Baseline Survey
Baseline Survey Findings
LEF Leadership and Community Demographic Characteristics
Table 1: Executive Director Demographics by Tenure
Table 2: Characteristics of Students Served by LEFs
Table 3: Executive Director Demographics
Table 4: Boards of Directors’ Demographics
Table 5: Perception of Board of Directors
LEF Executive Director Activities and Skills
Table 6: Executive Directors’ Time Allocation
Table 7: Executive Directors’ Time Allocation by Tenure
Table 8: Perception of Importance of Leadership Skills
Internal Organizational Issues
Table 9: Average Hours Executive Directors Work per Week
Table 10: Perceptions of Staff
Figure 1: Executive Directors' Characterization of Their Boards
LEF Executive Directors as Community Collaborators
Figure 2: Frequency with which Executive Directors Talk with the Following Groups
Figure 3: Similarity of Vision of Education
Figure 4: LEF is "Critical Friend" of District
Conclusions
Implications for Civic Capacity Building
Implications for Leadership Development
Questions for Further Consideration
Bibliography
APPENDIX A: Survey Instrument
APPENDIX B: Survey Findings
Executive Summary
Importance of Study
Many nonprofit organizations seek to make change. To that end, much needed "capital" — variously described as social, public, professional, and human — is being brought to bear upon pressing social issues. Researchers across the country are attempting to understand how these resources are being generated, deployed, and administered, and to what avail. Of particular interest here are local education funds (LEFs) and their leaders. LEFs are a set of voluntary, intermediate, and mission-driven organizations, conceived by the Ford Foundation in 1983, which sit strategically at the nexus of educational and civic capacity building.
This report provides the results of the first phase of the Public Education Network (PEN) leadership study, a baseline survey administered to 59 LEF executive directors. The survey had two purposes: to provide a snapshot of leadership characteristics and perceptions of executive directors — information never before compiled and examined — and to gather contextual information on the LEFs and the communities they serve. The results will be used as a foundation for subsequent research on LEF leadership. In time, the findings from this research will assist PEN in its efforts to nurture and sustain LEF leadership.
This survey, and subsequent study components, will build on already conducted research by, for example, Elizabeth Useem, from within PEN, and Steven Ott, Burt Nanus, and others from without. It will also provide a fresh source of data for community leadership and change researchers such as Richard Harwood and David Chrislip, and help inform the practices of other organizations undertaking a change agenda.
Methods
Survey items were formulated by Urban Institute researchers, examined by experts inside and outside the PEN network to maximize study validity, and pilot-tested with current and former LEF executive directors. The resulting survey was administered between June 4 and July 4, 2001 and generated a 75 percent response rate.
Future components of the study will involve a more comprehensive exploration of LEF leadership through facilitated discussions with founding directors, new directors, and directors of long-standing LEFs; semi-structured interviews with founding executive directors and key informants; and a follow-up survey of all executive directors.
Baseline Survey Findings
The baseline survey revealed a number of interesting findings about executive directors’ work and characteristics, as well as their perceptions of important leadership skills. These include the following:
- If executive directors had total control over their time allocation, most would continue to concentrate on program development and district relations. However, they would spend less time carrying out the actual management of programs and focus more time on strategic planning.
- Most frequently respondents ranked interpersonal skills and strategic planning as key to effective LEF leadership.
- This first glimpse suggests that LEF executive director leadership can be best described by a community collaborative model of leadership because interacting with and mobilizing the community is viewed an integral role of the executive director.
- Differences surfaced in the background and experience of newer executive directors — those who have held their position for four years or less — and longer-term executive directors. Newer executive directors are more likely to have a higher level of educational attainment, have previous experience in education, and are less likely to live in the community served by their LEF.
- Nearly all respondents indicated a high level of satisfaction with their job and their compensation — this despite reports of very high numbers of hours dedicated to their work.
- There is a disparity between the characteristics of LEF leaders and the communities they serve. While executive directors tend to be white and middle-income, the students in the districts served by the LEFs tend to be lower-income and non-white.
- The majority of executive directors feel their boards of directors are executing their responsibilities effectively. For instance, 93 percent report that their board ensures that the LEF stays true to and advances its mission.
Study Implications
Implications of these findings for civic community building and leadership development are summarized in the conclusion section of the full report, as are areas for further study. Salient implications include the following
- LEF leadership is likely to be a strong factor in the development of public capital. LEFs and their leaders can contribute to almost all of the nine factors identified by Richard Harwood (1996) as part of public capital, particularly as catalytic organizations with strong leadership, that promote informal networks and links and greater community discussion.
- Although racial and ethnic homogeneity is a common problem among nonprofits, it may be particularly important for LEFs and PEN to address, as LEFs claim to represent a public community response to the need for better schools.
- PEN and LEFs will want to consider the systematic differences among new and longer-term executive directors when thinking about how to nurture LEF leadership.
- Some evidence pointed to a need on the part of executive directors for increased understanding of how to develop a board’s autonomy. Generally, an important aspect of LEF leadership will continue to be the executive director’s ability to work effectively with his or her board.
Clearly, important questions for further inquiry and informal and formal discussion arise from the above findings and implications. Among them:
- What factors cause executive directors to spend more time than desired on program management, and less time than desired on strategic planning?
- What exactly do executive directors mean when they say they want to spend much more time on strategic planning, especially at a time when nonprofits are being called to divert so much time and expertise to the process?
- What are some of the implications, for inter-LEF and community collaboration, of multiple LEFs and executive directors in one community?
This study provides important baseline information about LEF executive directors. Follow-up research is planned to yield valuable practical information about LEF leadership. The study is expected to generate rich discussion among all stakeholders, including LEF board and staff members, PEN, and other community leaders.
This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF), which many find convenient when printing.
The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
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