Perspectives on Leadership

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Administration in Social Work

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Becoming a Manager in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations: Making the Transition from Specialist to Generalist

Michael J. Austin , Kate Regan , Suzanne Gothard & Sarah Carnochan

To cite this article: Michael J. Austin , Kate Regan , Suzanne Gothard & Sarah Carnochan (2013) Becoming a Manager in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations: Making the Transition from Specialist to Generalist, Administration in Social Work, 37:4, 372-385, DOI: 10.1080/03643107.2012.715116

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/03643107.2012.715116

Published online: 15 Oct 2012.

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Administration in Social Work, 37:372–385, 2013 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0364-3107 print/1544-4376 online DOI: 10.1080/03643107.2012.715116

Becoming a Manager in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations: Making the Transition from Specialist

to Generalist

Michael J. Austin, Kate Regan, Suzanne Gothard, and Sarah Carnochan School of Social Work, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

The transition from direct service to management in human service organizations requires newly pro- moted managers to engage in significant role transformation that calls into question their self-concept and identity. This analysis draws upon the for-profit and nonprofit literature to construct a conceptual model of managerial identity formation. The model is then applied to a case vignette of a managerial leadership development training program developed by a regional network of nonprofit human ser- vice agency directors. The analysis concludes with implications for managerial training and leadership development in human service organizations.

Keywords: human service organizations, leadership, management, training

INTRODUCTION

It is common for human service organizations to promote direct service practitioners into manage- ment positions, yet there is often little attention paid to the altered sense of identity and role changes that accompany this transition. While formal prior training and experience can be useful when direct service practitioners in human service organizations move into managerial roles, new managers often face challenges as they learn to exercise authority, negotiate competing interests, manage organizational politics, and move from their role as a technical specialist to becoming a managerial generalist (Austin, 1981; Donovan & Jackson, 1991; Lowe & Austin, 1997; Patti, Diedrick, Olson, & Crowell, 1979). Nonprofit and public sector training programs often do not adequately address these transition challenges and tend to focus more on managerial skills.

The organizational assumptions underlying most promotions in nonprofits, even when those pro- moted have moved up through the ranks of human service organizations (often with little or no management training), include: 1) that participants enter with a relatively clear idea of their man- agerial responsibilities and seek primarily to improve their management skills; 2) that participants have broadened their client-focused identity to include an organizational and community focus; and 3) that participants have assumed a managerial role that fits their career interests.

Based on the comments, reflections, and observations of participants in a new managerial leader- ship training program that is described elsewhere (Austin, Regan, Samples, Schwartz, & Carnochan,

Correspondence should be addressed to Michael J. Austin, School of Social Work, University of California, Berkeley, 120 Haviland Hall #7400, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM SPECIALIST TO GENERALIST 373

2011), it became apparent that nonprofit human service managers were having difficulty with their managerial roles where the “managerial hat” neither “fit” nor “looked good.” For example, the following comments were shared by the training program participants (Austin, et al., 2011):

1. “I miss the satisfaction of working with clients and I try to get similar satisfaction from working with staff, but I really identify with the clients we serve.”

2. “I like the power and authority that comes with my manager role, but I find it difficult to be part of the administrative hierarchy of the agency or to actually use my power and authority.”

3. “When faced with new roles, like fundraising, I find it very difficult to envision myself attending fundraising events where I need to dress-up. I can’t imagine liking this part of being a manager as talking to wealthy people puts me in conflict with who I am and what I believe about serving poor people.”

4. “I often feel like I’m under siege as a manager, making it difficult to see the big picture of my agency within its larger environment.”

5. “One of my biggest challenges is dealing with the negative projections of my staff now that I’m a manager, especially when I’m attempting to set or maintain accountability.”

6. “I have no clearly identified space to reflect and get feedback about how I’m doing as a manager, especially in my relationships with staff.”

These perceptions made it clear that the issues of identity and role required further investigation and future program adjustments.

We found that some of the issues were addressed in the literature on the transition from techni- cal specialist to first-line manager. However, due to the limited research in the nonprofit and public sector human service organizations on this transition from direct service supervisor to program man- ager (e.g, there is no aggregate data in either sector to identify the number of people advancing each year up the managerial leadership ladder), this analysis involves a review of the for-profit manage- ment literature in search of concepts and findings relevant to the nonprofit sector. The outcome is a conceptual framework that is then used to inform nonprofit management.

This framework evolved as part of the redesign process of a nonprofit managerial leadership development program in order to address the emerging issues of identity and role development. The framework served as a lens to examine the experiences of participants in subsequent cohorts to develop a deeper understanding of managerial and leadership identity formation. The follow- ing review of the literature and its application to a managerial leadership development program concludes with implications and recommendations for further research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In reflecting on the transition from specialist to generalist in for-profit organizations, McCall et al. (1988) found that successful transitions are often built upon a prior on-the-job work history of developmental assignments (sometimes referred to as stretch assignments) where managerial capabilities are demonstrated through a variety of activities (e.g., first supervisory experience, project/task force experience, demonstrated capacity to cope with the ambiguity through an understanding organizational culture and strategies, leading a team and surviving difficult situa- tions, fixing programs that requires persuasion and toughness, and/or a significant expansion in scope of work that requires relying on others and thinking like a manager). Successful transitions from specialist to generalist were found by McCall et al. (1988) to reflect the following lessons learned: 1) setting and implementing agendas (e.g., taking responsibility, building and using organizational structures, thinking strategically and engaging in innovative problem solving); 2) handling relationships (e.g., dealing with people over whom you have no authority, negotiating

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political situations, understanding other people’s perspectives, dealing with conflict, directing- motivating-evaluating-developing subordinates, and managing up to senior management); and 3) demonstrating core values rooted in self-awareness (e.g., belief that one can not manage everything alone, importance of the human side of management, continuous acknowledgement of one’s limits and blind spots, and recognizing and seizing opportunities by taking charge of one’s career and maintaining balance between work and personal life).

The theme of self-awareness calls for a personal framework for self-reflective practice that, according to McCall et al. (1988), involves identifying one’s shortcomings (either reactively as a result of negative feedback or proactively by learning how to expand one’s self-reflective capaci- ties), accepting responsibility for one’s shortcomings by searching for their sources, and addressing shortcomings (e.g., placing oneself in situations calling for new learning, accessing the expertise of others, hiring staff that compensate for one’s weaknesses, and/or change the situation, and/or seeking coaching for use in developing personal change).

In more recent work, Charan, et al. (2011) reflect on the process of managing self to managing others where they focus on getting work done through others (rather than relying exclusively on yourself) and giving up the tasks and responsibilities that gave them the recognition needed to become a manager. They noted that the transition from specialist to generalist calls for different skills, use of time, and work values. For example, the different skills include defining/assigning work to be done, monitoring/communicating/coaching/acquiring resources/problem solving, and building relationships up/down/out). According to Charan et al. (2011), the use of these skills should lead to less doing and more discussing, completing the role transition, hiring others who reflect the organization’s work style and beliefs, maintaining availability to teach, sharing in the successes of staff, and continuously learning about the organization’s expectations of managers. With respect to the use of time, they note that managers need to move from the daily discipline of managing one’s own time to more annual planning (budgets/projects) and making time available for others (communications and team priority setting). And finally, with regard to work values, they observed that there needs to be a shift from valuing personal/technical proficiency to valuing the results of others and the successes of teamwork. In commenting on the transition from specialist to generalist, Charan et al. (2011) noted that:

When first-time managers lack the ability to delegate or coach, they’ll schedule relatively little time for each activity, preferring to spend as much time as possible on what they’re good at . . . They don’t want to look foolish in front of their former peers and will therefore spend time on activities that make them appear competent. They also are avoiding the monumental shift of being responsible for the productivity, output, and expansion of individual capacity that comes with a manager’s job (p.48).

Some observers of the transition process have sought to compile their findings into a set of success strategies to be used in the first 90 days of becoming a manager. For example, Watkins (2003) identified the following 10 key strategies viewed as prescriptions for success: 1) promote yourself by making the mental break from specialist to generalist; 2) maintain a systematic focus on what needs to be learned and how to do it efficiently; 3) match strategy to situation by using diagnosis in order to develop action plan; 4) focus on early wins to build credibility and momentum; 5) negotiate success by building relationship with your boss through multiple conversations about expectations; 6) achieve alignment by bringing organizational structures into alignment with its strategies, especially systems and skills; 7) build your team by evaluating current members and recruiting new members; 8) create coalitions, both internal and external, to identify those whose support is essential for success; 9) keep your balance between the personal and the professional with the use of an advice/counsel network (avoid getting isolated, making poor decisions, and/or losing perspective); and 10) help others accelerate their own performance and transitions (p. 12–14)

As these highlights from the for-profit literature on transitions indicate, the considerable change process involves: 1) developing a sense of self and interpersonal judgment, 2) gaining role clarity

MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM SPECIALIST TO GENERALIST 375

and learning how to transition into and out of role, and 3) learning how to learn on the job (Fleming, 2008; Hill, 2003). In essence, a profound professional and psychological transformation takes place in the process of becoming a manager (Hill, 2003).

Developing a Sense of Self

Learning to engage as a self-reflective practitioner is a key theme throughout the literature on becoming a manager. Hill (2003) notes that personal learning is often more demanding than task learning. Many of the managers in Hill’s (2003) study had previously relied primarily on taking action rather than engaging in reflection and introspection and quickly discovered that this action- oriented approach was not sustainable in their new managerial role where developing a sense of self was critical. Watson (2001) notes that many components of managerial learning require self-awareness and include helping staff feel valued, recognizing hidden agendas, and navigating organizational politics. Interpersonal styles, attitudes, and mindsets that worked well at the line level may need to be modified to be effective at the managerial level (Hill, 2003, 2007). Leadership coach- ing has been shown to assist new managers in identifying their own interpersonal style and ways of adapting in order to develop a managerial style that is both comfortable and effective (Koonce, 2008). Additional examples of the process of developing self are located in Appendix A.

Managing Role Transitions

New managers need to learn how to shift from the role of specialist where they rely primarily on their own efforts to carry out their jobs to that of generalist where they rely on others to get things done (Hill, 2003). Yet, the satisfaction that new managers typically derive from excelling as a specialist may make it difficult for them to leave this role in order to manage a broader scope of work and acquire the wider lens needed for managerial work (Hill, 2003). Moreover, this transition requires that new managers move from a position of independence to one of organizational interde- pendence where they are called upon to integrate multiple agendas and build networks both internal and external to the organization (Hill, 2003). However, the conceptions of work and the responsibil- ities held by new managers often conflict with the notion of getting work done through others (Hill, 2003). In addition, the increased interdependence that characterizes the role of manager heightens the sense of a loss of control (Hill, 2003). New managers are tempted to revert back to their special- ist role when they feel most out of control, and feedback from subordinates can help them resist this temptation and embrace the interdependent nature of the managerial role (Hill, 2003). Additional examples of the process of managing role transitions are located in Appendix B.

Learning How to Learn from Experiences and Training

New managers need to learn from experiences in order to make a successful transition into manage- ment (Hill, 2003; Hill, 2004; McCall and Hollenbeck, 2007; McCall & Hollenbeck, 2008; Watson, 2001). On-the-job learning requires active reflection and inquiry, asking the questions “What did I do?” “What did I learn?” and “Why did I do it that way?” (McCall & Hollenbeck, 2008; Watson, 2001). To engage in self-development, managers need to “adopt an explorer’s stance” by using introspection and reflection, incorporating diverse perspectives, and seeking out opportunities for life-long learning (Hill, 2004, p. 124). To help managers learn from their experiences, superiors need to offer coaching and multiple sources of feedback (McCall & Hollenbeck, 2007). Research indicates that learning on the job is enhanced if the learner is able to access support from both peers and superiors (Hill, 2007). A person’s natural curiosity and ability, desire, and drive to learn from her or his own experiences are often considered when assessing leadership potential (McCall & Hollenbeck, 2007; Muson, 2008). McCall and Hollenbeck (2008) warn against moving people into

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leadership positions too quickly because sequential experiences with increasing responsibilities are necessary to grasp some leadership concepts related to one’s own stage of development. Watson (2001) presents the concept of an “emergent manager,” one whose on-the-job preparation and train- ing for management can be understood in the context of a full life history of leadership development rather than simply the point at which a formal promotion occurs.

The responsibility to develop new managers rests on both the future manager and the organization (Hill, 2003; McCall & Hollenbeck, 2008). Organizations need to provide prospective managers with: 1) an accurate portrayal of management, 2) resources and support throughout the transition, 3) opportunities for stretch assignments to develop managerial competence, and 4) opportunities for post-training follow-up that reinforces new learning and allows discussion of challenges that arise from putting training principles into practice (Hill, 2003; McCall & Hollenbeck, 2007; Pledger, 2007). Dubouloy (2004) notes that to develop managers who are comfortable innovating and able to use their talents, management training programs need to: 1) help participants examine and construct their identity, 2) allow time for experiences to be discussed, and 3) provide an emotionally safe environment.

In essence, future managers need to engage in their own self-assessments to identify the fit between their skills, attitudes, strengths, and interests and the managerial role itself, as well as substantial “self-development” throughout their first year on the job (Hill, 2003). Suggestions for new managers who make the transition include the need to: 1) be patient, 2) anticipate common pitfalls, 3) demonstrate an openness to criticism, 4) maintain integrity and honesty, 5) engage in ongoing training and development of yourself and your subordinates, and 6) develop a resource base for ongoing assistance (Fleming, 2008; Hill, 2003).

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

These themes parallel the issues faced by human service managers who experience substantial “social psychological discontinuity” in the areas of: 1) exercising authority, 2) guiding group decision making, 3) focusing on service effectiveness and outcomes, and 4) managing collegial relationships with former peers (Patti & Austin, 1977). To capture the professional and psycho- logical transformations that accompany the transition from direct service to management in human service organizations, where new managers seek to renegotiate their professional role and adjust their own self-perceptions, a conceptual framework is needed as illustrated in Figure 1. The frame- work identifies four stages that characterize the transition: 1) Emerging, 2) Becoming, 3) Acting, and 4) Thriving.

The first stage, Emerging, marks the period in which a specialist is identified as a prospective generalist for a role in management. Emerging managers, as well as their supervisors, often use this time to assess the fit between managerial work and the potential manager’s knowledge, attitudes, skills, and interests (Gaynor, 2004; Hill, 2003). An “emergent manager” is one who is encouraged to: 1) reflect on past experiences and future goals, 2) seek stretch assignments, 3) ask questions and observe to get an accurate picture of managerial work, and 4) actively develop professional and support networks (Watson, 2001; Hill, 2003).

The second phase, Becoming a manager, often begins at the point of promotion and is marked by negotiating the role and re-constructing elements of identity. The five substantial identity-related shifts that characterize this phase include what Hill (2003) describes as: 1) moving away from technical or clinical mastery and toward generalist competencies; 2) shifting from the role of a specialist or an independent practitioner to that of an interdependent manager; 3) learning to adjust one’s locus of responsibility from individual-level task completion to team-level success; 4) shifting from building credibility primarily with clients or customers to learning how to develop credibility with ones staff; and 5) letting go of the need to be personally liked and moving toward reliance

MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM SPECIALIST TO GENERALIST 377

FIGURE 1 The Transition From Direct Service to Management.

on being respected in role—a shift that is often associated with the loss of peer camaraderie and a well-defined reference group (Barnes, 1981; Cohen, 2005).

As new managers gain role clarity and begin Acting in role, they are often confronted with com- peting demands. New managers continue to construct their managerial identity as they learn to balance the processes of: 1) managing individuals as well as an overall team (Fleming, 2008; Hill, 2004, 2007); 2) offering support while developing an ability to effectively confront problematic behavior; 3) setting high expectations for performance as well as opportunities for growth and devel- opment; 4) acknowledging managerial authority while striving to empower team autonomy (Hill, 2003); 5) relying on personal power while recognizing their new positional power (Hitt, Black, & Porter, 2005); and 6) managing up and down, as well as out (both in the agency and the community) (Hopkins & Austin, 2004).

While this model depicts a linear framework, new managers often learn to “become” and “act” as managers simultaneously by thriving in one area and continuing to construct a managerial identity in another. New managers find themselves Thriving as they begin to move away from crisis manage- ment toward managerial leadership, marked by comfort and competence in planning ahead while effectively managing the present. In order to thrive as leaders in human service organizations, new managers are called upon to engage in the following managerial roles: 1) analytic roles that include leveraging resources, managing resources, creating and influencing policy, and evaluating outcomes; 2) leadership roles that include boundary spanning, future planning, aligning process and structure, team building and management, and coalition building; and 3) interactional roles that include facil- itating, communicating, advocating, and supervising (Austin & Kruzich, 2004; Menefee, 2004). To maintain and renew their ability to thrive, managers need to engage in an ongoing process of self-reflection and continuous on-the-job learning (Hill, 2003, 2004; McCall & Hollenbeck, 2007; McCall & Hollenbeck, 2008; Watson, 2001).

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An organization’s culture and context can affect the ease with which new managers form a managerial identity. To begin exploring the application of issues related to identity formation and managerial roles highlighted in the conceptual framework, several findings from classroom obser- vations and participant interviews (in the form of the following case vignette) are used to illustrate (in the context of grounded theory) the different ways that the transition from specialist to generalist is impacted by organizational culture and context (Austin et al., 2011).

CASE VIGNETTE

Emerging

Despite the fact that many of the training program participants had been in managerial positions for over five years, they had not yet acquired the time and/or support to engage in focused reflection on their identities and managerial roles. As noted in Figure 3, the importance of assessing the fit between a managerial role and a future manager’s existing knowledge, attitudes, skills, and interests (prior to movement into a managerial role) is a key element in the Emerging stage. The responsibility for such an assessment rests with the future manager as well as the organization (Gaynor, 2004; Hill, 2003; McCall & Hollenbeck, 2008). While the training participants had been promoted to managerial positions prior to the training program, it became clear that they were not comfortable in the role, despite the fact that they were selected for the training based on their motivation, learning readiness, natural talent, and initiative.

The clash in expectations between those who had done the promoting (agency directors) and those who were promoted was evident in the differences between the training goals identified by agency directors and those identified by the program participants. The primary training goals identi- fied by agency directors included: 1) expanding the professional identities of participants to include leadership roles within their organizations; 2) helping participants build upon their personal identity and interpersonal skills to manage staff and develop the ability to step in and out of appropri- ate managerial roles; and 3) developing the perspectives needed to promote systems management (e.g., financial, information and human resources). The training goals identified by the participants were wide ranging and included improving work/life balance, increasing their managerial compe- tence, developing the confidence and capacity in leadership roles needed to address organizational challenges, developing time management and prioritization skills, acquiring the tools to manage resources while maintaining staff morale, and increasing their capacity to look and plan ahead while managing day-to-day issues and commitments.

These different learning priorities made it clear that, while participants had been functioning in their jobs and were clearly seen as successful (by virtue of the fact that they had been selected to attend the program), they had different learning goals from those of their agency directors. While the executive directors who participated in the design of the program identified the skill sets they hoped participants would refine or acquire to become more effective managers and leaders, partici- pants often joked about the organization’s need for “warm bodies in the management positions” as the primary reason that they had been promoted, even if they were told that they showed consid- erable promise for assuming managerial roles. In the Emerging phase of managerial role identity, two factors are prominent in nonprofits. First, staff members are often critical of those in agency leadership positions and frequently conclude that they would be able to perform more effectively than the current incumbents of those positions. This perception does not necessarily lead to a com- prehensive self-assessment of the strengths and areas for improvement among those in the pool of possible candidates for promotion. Neither does the relief from finding a ‘warm body’ to fill a vacant management positions create a firm foundation of organizational assessment needed to help a new manager become successful.

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Making the shift from developing credibility with clients to developing credibility with staff is another important element of managerial identity formation. A self-shadowing exercise fur- ther indicated that participants did not feel comfortable in, and had not solidified themselves, in a management role. In this exercise, participants recorded their time and activities on a typical day, enabling them to reflect on how they spent their time, especially in the areas of crisis management and counseling with staff. Participants found themselves re-creating client experiences with their staff such as devoting extensive amounts of time to counseling them. While this may seem like an effective strategy to develop credibility among staff, participants were able to identify the ways in which this approach made it difficult for them to then step into their leadership roles when called upon to do so. New managers came to recognize the need to balance both support and confrontation when working with staff in order to manage effectively.

As participants admitted that they missed working with clients and had recreated their client experience in their approach to managing staff, they came to recognize their ambivalence about the managerial role. Although they liked the power and authority that came with managing, they found it difficult to be part of the administrative “hierarchy” and to use the related power and authority. Participants associated activities related to the organization’s health (e.g., pitching the organization’s mission to donors) as conflicting with their client-centered identity. As they recognized how this role conflict inhibited them from taking on organizational leadership responsibilities, they became more aware of the process of consciously stepping in and out of leadership roles while building upon their client-centered identities.

A self-shadowing exercise also helped participants to focus on the multiple roles involved in orga- nizational leadership (the fundraiser, the financial manager, the public speaker, the human resource manager, the staff motivator and the program evaluator), and assess the barriers they faced when new roles conflicted with the identity that they had formed as human service workers (Austin et al., 2011). It helped them recognize the strain they experienced from continuing to resist various aspects of the manager’s role. For example, one participant asked one of the instructors who was a veteran executive director how she handled the demands of “dressing-up, putting on heels, and going to a cocktail party” to raise funds? With disbelief etched across her face she asked, “Do you like it? How can you do it? Doesn’t that put you in conflict with who you are and what you believe about serving poor people?”

Becoming

During a group simulation exercise participants began to experiment with the practice of stepping into and out of role. This experience helped participants to see that one’s identity as a human service professional is not necessarily compromised by taking on a management role. They began to see how the managerial expectations for service accountability and cost-effectiveness could be balanced with their support for practitioner creativity and autonomy needed to meet the complex needs of clients.

A learning lab simulation helped participants explore organizational roles that featured aspects of: 1) their current workplace, 2) their organization’s relationship to the community, 3) the involve- ment of other stakeholders in human service work, 4) ways of responding to the impact of systems and organizational structures on role, and 5) perceptions of their role and how others perceived their role (Austin et al., 2011).

Throughout the exercise, the training facilitator sought to shift the group’s focus from a “per- son in role” to an “organization in environment” perspective. For example, in the systems analysis component, one participant was able to move from seeing herself as a manager “under siege” to recognizing that a shift in funding priorities was placing her program in a favorable spotlight as innovators and direction-setters for new programs. She then linked this “organization in envi- ronment” perspective to the experiences of participants in the simulation exercise. By picturing

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themselves outside of their roles in their own organization, participants were better able to view their organizations with a big-picture lens.

As Hill (2003) indicates, it is a significant transition when a manager can shift from the perspec- tive of an individual contributor to one who is responsible for the department or organization as a whole.

Acting

New managers in the ‘acting stage’ of development often struggle with balancing their personal and positional power. For example, the nonprofit managers found it extremely difficult to balance the need to exercise their authority as a manager with the need to feel helpful and supportive of staff, resulting in their ambivalence in exercising their positional power. While they liked the increase in authority, they did not feel comfortable being part of an organizational hierarchy and found it difficult to know how and when to use their power.

Once a manager begins to make decisions and take action to serve the organization’s mission, it is inevitable that that there will be a combination of positive and negative responses. This is often a situation where managers need to confront the conflict between their personal desire to be liked and the expectations of the managerial role. Participants realized that as managers they needed to earn the respect of others in their new professional role since they could not rely on peer camaraderie or old friendships to become effective managers. Participants noted their struggle in assuming managerial leadership roles was often complicated by the negative attitudes toward senior management that are held by their staff members. This is particularly true in nonprofit human service organizations where authority is often viewed with suspicion unless it is being used to respond to the personal needs of clients.

Given the mission of nonprofits to respond to the changing needs of clients, a parallel process also seems to emerge for managers in terms of responding to the changing needs of staff. This norm of responding to staff can complicate the process of moving from a specialist to a generalist, especially when staff members display resistance or anger when managers seek to exercise their authority. For example, one manager in the training program was called upon by senior management to communicate the decision about salary cuts to her staff and was met with negative responses, especially from a staff member who was also a long-time friend. Following her development of greater role clarity, this manager was able to engage in a conversation with the employee/friend to describe the organizational salary boundaries and limitations that had been created. She was able to take up the role that best served the organization, as well as maintain her personal values of care and concern for this individual. At the same time she was able to tolerate the fact that this individual was angry about the decision, held her personally responsible, and sought to end the friendship. While she successfully traversed this challenge, this manager noted that the incident sent her on a return visit to her therapist. This example also highlights an essential difference between the identity development of a manager in a nonprofit organization and that of a manager in a for-profit organization. The literature makes it clear that the process of identity development in for-profits is a process of “professional or career” identity development with less attention to the “personal” identity. The reference to seeking therapy highlights some of the complexity in nonprofits of making the shift from specialist to generalist, where identity clarification operates at both the personal and professional levels.

The discussions of personal identity and leadership roles surfaced the following three major challenges that often require greater support when making the transition from specialist to generalist within the context of the organization as a whole: 1) an ability to tolerate negative projections in times when assuming a managerial leadership role does not make managers popular with staff; 2) the capacity to work with these negative projections in a way that helps staff understand organizational realities, and remain open to hearing their perceptions, recognizing that the manager’s role requires

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the ability to develop staff and build bridges/alliances within the organization; and 3) an ability to carry the negative projections and at the same time retain the manager’s own standards of care and open-heartedness toward staff who often struggle with their own pain and disappointment over various management decisions, and then inadvertently conspire with other staff to undermine the role of the manager.

Through the use of the simulation and subsequent group and individual coaching, participants in this nonprofit leadership development program came to realize that in order to engage in effective managerial leadership, they needed to understand the roles they play within their own organizations and the ways in which others perceive those roles. Program participants who benefited most from the program were those most willing to explore their personal identity and values in relationship to the organizational roles of managing and leading.

Thriving

As highlighted in Figure 1, the “Personal Capacity” arrow runs through each of the stages in the model, indicating the interaction between personal capacity (i.e., for self reflection, coping with stress and emotion, and understanding personal style) and the transition into the manager role. By learning how to adapt their personal styles, participants became better able to engage in activities necessary for effective leadership, including maintaining boundaries and developing professional relationships. Participants recognized the need to allocate additional on-the-job time to the process of reflection and identified the following outcomes from their experience in the training program: 1) increased self-confidence in assuming a leadership role, especially in groups, 2) greater willing- ness to step outside of their comfort zone, 3) increased ability to depersonalize experiences related to the managerial role, and 4) expanded capacities in achieving a healthier work/life balance.

Participants also engaged in facilitated group and individual coaching that created a safe space for feedback and reflection needed for participants to engage in honest and candid self-assessment. Through peer learning and sharing, managers came to understand: 1) the many roles they take on in their organizations; 2) the roles that complement and conflict with their own sense of identity; and 3) how to pull from and, at times, compensate for certain aspects of their identity in order to assume the managerial role needed to improve their leadership within the organization. For example, one of the participants, who initially identified with her staff in rebellion against the existing organiza- tional structure, ultimately came to build upon the existing organizational structure in order to make dramatic changes in her department. While this act increased her status as a leader, the participant also had to revisit aspects of her former managerial identity (that of a manager allied with her staff) and renew the relationships she had developed in her old role within a new set of boundaries. The clarity about this process and the willingness to find support both within the organization and from outside coaches provided the manager with a context for experiencing the managerial role with less strain than in the past. Two years later, this manager remains at her organization, clearly thriving in her managerial role. She has restructured her department and gained greater responsibility within the organization. She was able to reflect on her experience, recognize what she has learned and how far she has progressed, and was able to share her experiences with others.

DISCUSSION

The experiences of participants in the managerial leadership training program described above allow for further reflection on the role transitions highlighted in Figure 3. The framework pro- vides increased clarity with regard to the key steps in establishing managerial role identity. The evidence presented by participants of a nonprofit leadership program illustrates some of the simi- larities between nonprofit and for-profit transitions from specialist to generalist. However, there is

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little in the literature about the relationship between and integration of personal identity formation and the organizational aspects of managerial role identity. Those who choose to work within non- profit human service organizations often create career paths based on a personal value system that shapes their personal identities. When they step into a managerial position and join the hierarchy of the organization, those personal values are often challenged, as evidenced by the manager who had trouble going to the cocktail party to raise money, or the manager who so easily slipped into leading her staff in a rebellion against the management of her own organization, or the manager who sought coaching when a colleague and friend could no longer sustain the friendship based on a managerial decision. It is not clear if the constant effort expended by some nonprofit managers to hold their personal identity in tact as they exercise their positional authority contributes to the high rate of burnout among nonprofit leaders. While new for-profit managers may “fail” in their role as managers, they do not seem to burn out. In the case of the nonprofit manager, however, it is highly likely that the clash between personal identity and role identity makes a significant contribution to burnout.

Recognizing that this relationship may exist, nonprofit organizations need to acknowledge that the loss of a reference group used to support personal identity can occur within the transition to management. Those organizations that support their new managers with education and training that includes peer feedback may also be providing their managers with an opportunity to develop a new reference group.

From this analysis, it is clear that more research is needed in the area of nonprofit managerial leadership, especially since most of the research focuses on the for-profit sector. Additional research in the nonprofit sector is necessary in order to: 1) identify experiences that are unique to nonprofit human service agencies, as well as those that are consistent with the for-profit experience; 2) develop strategies to reduce turnover and burnout at this career stage; 3) identify and evaluate training models that address the development of a managerial identity; and 4) identify strategies to help managers make the transition from reactive crisis management to proactive leadership in nonprofit human service organizations.

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capacity in nonprofit human service organizations through a leadership development program. Administration in Social Work, 35(3), 258–281

Austin, M. J., & Kruzich, J. M. (2004). Assessing recent textbooks and casebooks in human service administration: Implications and future directions, Administration in Social Work, 28(1), 115–137.

Barnes, L. B. (1981). Managing the paradox of organizational trust. Harvard Business Review, 2, 107–116. Charan, R., Drotter, S. & Noel, J. (2011). The leadership pipeline: How to build the leadership-powered company. San

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activity. Public Personnel Management, 27(4), 569–583. Donovan, F., & Jackson, A. C. (1991). Managing human service organizations. Sydney, Australia: Prentice-Hall. Dubouloy, M. (2004). The transitional space and self-recovery: A psychoanalytical approach to high-potential managers’

training. Human Relations, 57(4), 467–496. Fleming, R. S. (2008). Survival skills for the new manager. The Business Renaissance Quarterly 3(2), 127–137. Gaynor, G. H. (2004). What every new manager needs to know: Making a successful transition to management. New York,

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Hill, L. A. (2007). Becoming the boss. Harvard Business Review, 85(1), 48–56. Hitt, M. A., Black, S., & Porter, L. W. (2005). Management (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Hopkins, K. M., & Austin, M. J. (2004). Defining the learning organization. In M. J. Austin & K. M. Hopkins (Eds.),

Supervision as collaboration in the human services: Building a learning culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Koonce, R. (2008). Promoted to fail? How executive coaching can improve performance in newly promoted executives. The

Conference Board Executive Action Series, 285 (Sept), 1–6. Lowe, J. I., & Austin, M. J. (1997). Using direct practice skills in administration. The Clinical Supervisor, 15(2), 129–145. McCall, M. W., Lombardo, M. M., & Morrison, A. M. (1988). The lessons of experience: How successful executives develop

on the job. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books McCall, M. W., Jr., & Hollenbeck, G. P. (2007). Getting leadership development right. Leadership Excellence, 24(2), 8–9. McCall, M. W., & Hollenbeck, G. P. (2008). Developing the expert leader. People and Strategy, 31(1), 20–28. Menefee D. (2004). The managerial roles of the supervisor. In M. J. Austin & K. M. Hopkins (Eds.), Supervision as

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221–235.

APPENDIX A: DEVELOPING A SENSE OF SELF IN THE TRANSITION FROM SPECIALIST TO GENERALIST

I. Assessing One’s Emotional Intelligence • Acquiring the additional human relations skills within the context of adult learning styles

to effectively supervise others (Patton and Pratt, 2002) using Goleman’s (1995) five domains of emotional intelligence: 1) knowing one’s emotions, 2) managing emotions, 3) motivating oneself, 4) recognizing emotions in others, and 5) handling relationships

II. Assessing One’s Sense of Vulnerability and Isolation • Identifying and addressing one’s sense of vulnerability as new managers as well as iden-

tifying and building on one’s strengths (Fleming, 2008) to acquire the five major qualities critical to developing a managerial style: 1) self-confidence, 2) a willingness to accept responsibility, 3) patience, 4) empathy, and 5) an ability to live with imperfect solutions (Hill, 2003).

• Dealing with a sense of isolation and the loss of their former specialist status (e.g., the technical challenge, the explicit goals, the clear standards of comparison, and the reg- ular recognition; Hill, 2003), new managers need: 1) a new reference group by which to identify norms, values, and standards for success (Barnes, 1981), and 2) a way to re-conceptualize their past achievements and discover new ways to measure their contributions to the organization (e.g., informal peer feedback; Hill, 2003).

III. Utilizing the Perceptions of Others in the Assessment Process • Experiencing the threat of failure, often for the first time, can heighten the stress and loss

of control associated with the transition (e.g., psychological and/or physical symptoms) when combined with a reluctance to discuss the emotional impact, leading to feelings of

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being overwhelmed, trapped in the present, and often unable to plan ahead (Hill, 2003). Heightened by the pace and type of work, new abilities are needed to quickly shift priori- ties, accept imperfection, deal with ignorance, manage contradictions, negotiate conflicts, manage risk, put egos on the line, and come to terms with the power they hold (Hill, 2003).

• Given the new manager’s reluctance to ask for support or guidance, current bosses are rarely seen as resources based on a fear of being penalized if insecurities, mistakes, or challenges are disclosed (Hill, 2003, 2007). The resources needed to maintain a work-life balance and time for self-care can be found in executive coaching (Koonce, 2008).

APPENDIX B: MANAGING ROLE TRANSITIONS IN THE TRANSITION FROM SPECIALIST TO GENERALIST

I. Seeking Role Clarity • New managerial role needs to be defined, as well as “clarified,” “communicated,” and

“understood” throughout the organization, especially for former peers or when replacing a poorly performing manager (Cohen, 2005; Fleming, 2008).

• Increased clarity about roles and responsibilities relate to: 1) the purpose of the work group, 2) upper management’s expectations of the group, 3) the group’s competencies, 4) the level of expected inter-organizational collaboration, 5) expectations for accountabil- ity and responsibility, 6) budgetary parameters, 7) organizational philosophy, 8) protocols for formal communication, 9) opportunities for training and ongoing learning, and 10) limits of formal authority (Gaynor, 2004).

• Discrepancies between the expectations of the constituencies and those of a new manager require negotiating relationships with superiors, peers, or external stakeholders, espe- cially the reliance of subordinates on the support of their manager and the reliance of senior managers on the new manager’s ability to protect the organization and demonstrate leadership by building relationships, communicating effectively, motivating and gaining commitment from others (e.g., managing people, not tasks) (Hill, 2003).

II. Managing Ambiguity • As new managers gain role clarity, they need to: “Embrace individual differences while

embracing a collective identity and goals; they must foster support and at the same time foster confrontation; they need to focus on performance, while focusing on learning and development; and they try to balance managerial authority with relying on their team members’ discretion and autonomy” (Hill, 2003, p. 297).

• By demonstrating comfort with role ambiguity, new managers need the ability to make decisions about difficult trade-offs, a capacity to look ahead while managing the present, and a commitment to people, not just the work itself (Hill, 2003).

• In recognizing network-building responsibilities, new managers can become over- whelmed and stressed by: 1) their own uncertainty about how to simultaneously develop relationships with subordinates, peers, superiors, and external stakeholders; and 2) their place on the bottom rungs of the management hierarchy (e.g., dealing with office politics as well as external relations) (Hill, 2007).

III. Managing Down and Managing Up • Demonstrating the ability to delegate responsibility, authority, and accountability by

learning how to manage the needs of a group (Fleming, 2008; Hill, 2003) to utilize its collective strength and sense of empowerment for teams to exercise their own authority to make decisions that reflect a commitment to team goals (Fleming, 2008; Hill, 2004; Hill, 2007).

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• Demonstrating the capacity to manage up as active change initiators, displaying the capacities to generate ideas and develop the skills to implement those ideas using the fol- lowing change management principles: 1) recognize need, 2) establish goals, 3) diagnosis, 4) selection of change technique, 5) planning for implementation, 6) implementation, and 7) evaluation and action (Watson, 2001; Hill, 2007; Fleming, 2008).

IV. Balancing Managing with Leading • Developing leadership strategies beyond the use of formal authority (e.g., use of expert

power over positional power) relies on building inter-dependent relationships based on trust at the team and organizational levels to develop the influence needed to get things done (Hill, 2007)

• Establishing credibility based on the perceptions of others regarding motives, character, competence, and the ability of a manager to deliver the right thing at the right time calls for the capacity to control one’s response to criticism by relinquishing the need to know everything, refrain from interpreting disagreement with a subordinate as a challenge to their authority, develop “thick-skin,” and deliver both positive and negative news effec- tively (e.g., differentiating between being respected and being liked and between trust in the professional role and fostering friendship) (Hill, 2003; Crampton, Hodge, and Mishra, 1998).