Abstract

To attain Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030’s goal of developing leadership, we need to understand the key issues that have emerged in the context of learning skills relating to leadership in non-profit organizations (NPOs) to enhance their efficacy for management positions. This study elaborates upon the relevant abilities of leaders of NPOs. A qualitative approach involving interviews with 15 directors from renowned non-profit Saudi organizations was used. These 15 leaders, together with 6 other employees from NPOs participating in a focus group, were the primary informants. The study involved semi-structured interviews with professionals from non-profit sectors such as education, health, environmental sustainability, and human resources to summarize critical elements that either help facilitate or negatively affect these individuals’ ability to contribute to institutional results. The results revealed six competency groups – namely personal, management, social, industry-specific, work-specific, and academic – which demonstrated the usefulness of the approach in gaining useful insights that would otherwise not have emerged. The results indicate that leaders of NPOs should exhibit these six levels of competencies to counter internal and external difficulties, and to effectively contribute to achieving organizational goals.

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