Success Patterns of ICSO Executives

Foreword

Being the chief executive of an international civil society organisation (ICSO) has rarely been easy. One is under constant pressure to deliver critical humanitarian or development aid, often with insufficient resources. Now executive officers are faced with a set of even more significant challenges—draconian cuts in state-sponsored funding, political and military barriers to providing aid to many in need, attacks on core values of the sector, and a host of concurrent crises putting millions at risk of death or suffering. It is no wonder that, according to many observers, we are witnessing higher levels of turnover among chief executives in the sector.

However, the findings in this report reveal that while the environment within which ICSOs operate has never been more daunting, it is not the primary reason for this churn at the highest level of leadership. Rather, a combination of organisational challenges and crises appears to be the main driver of attrition of chief executives. The research also points to a set of success patterns that have allowed some executive leaders to navigate and even thrive despite the internal and external demands with which they must contend.