Blog: What’s going on at the head (& heart) of the voluntary sector?

If we go with the findings of our recent Wellbeing, Succession and Diversity survey, the message is starkly clear: Scotland’s sector leaders are exhausted, burning out, struggling to take time off, and many want to leave. With some highlighting a lack of support in their role, and others finding people to succeed them a challenge, voluntary sector leaders are feeling the impact of leading through close to 2 years of a global pandemic.

Perhaps this is to be expected at what we hope is the end of this most gruelling time, when leaders have not only risen to the challenge, but done amazingly well against unforeseen odds. But with almost half of our leaders describing their wellbeing as ‘poor’ in relation to work (only 14% gave this same rating outside of work); close to 40% saying they felt they needed to take time off due to work related stress but didn’t; and only 2% saying they seldom experience high levels of stress at work, clearly something is wrong.

While these stats are stark, the survey results were not without hope. The pandemic and emerging future has brought hope for greater collaboration and connections; new ways of working with more flexibility, higher importance given to wellbeing; and broader hopes for growth, direction, and new opportunities. But what does the future look like, and how do we get there, if we don’t take steps to address this rising wellbeing crisis now?

Over half the leaders surveyed said they are planning to leave their roles in the next 5 years, with 71% of this group looking to leave in less than 2. Added to this, the indication that 77% of those planning to leave want to pursue other options – we need to ask ourselves now whether we are facing a mass exodus of skilled, working age people from the pool of voluntary sector leaders or is the way of working just changing as the sector evolves?

We hope a pipeline of diverse and life experienced future leaders is part of the key to future success for the sector, but why is a sector rooted in values and social purpose struggling to reflect equality and diversity in leadership? And why is the ‘caring’ sector pushing its leaders to burnout? Does our current leadership reflect and enhance the humanity and social context of our goals and ambitions?

One clue might come from issues of diversity found in the ACOSVO survey. With over 90% of the leaders responding being white British / Scottish, 84% identified as heterosexual, and 89% not considering themselves to have a disability, the leader profile doesn’t reflect our organisations, nor the communities we serve. Whilst our sample is small, this lack of diversity reflects an issue we have seen raised many times in recent years.

This isn’t only about new people coming in to pick up the reigns from those leaders who plan to leave. Whilst we continue to work hard to increase support, build resilience, develop leadership skills, and take serious steps to increase equality and diversity in leadership, something at the very heart of the sector is changing.

The system is shifting in response to the new and emerging world we find ourselves in. Leadership is being reimagined. Our thinking about how we develop, support, and enable our leaders, and new leaders coming after them, is changing. Emerging research is showing that resilience is much more holistic than previously thought and the way we think about our lives and what is important to us as we come through the pandemic will impact on how we lead. It is time for new theories, constructs, and styles of leadership to emerge as we face our altered future, and there is a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw from to help us through this period.

What is clear is that voluntary sector leadership is changing, and we need to embrace that change to shape our future and reflect the heart and spirit of the sector alongside the head.

Pat Armstrong, Chief Executive and Jayne Stuart, Head of Sustainability, ACOSVO