Leadership Development Programs at Relief India Trust

Leadership is important in NGOs:

Leadership is a critical factor attached with the success of any organization. Good leadership skills alter the potential of an individual into a reality. If we talk about NGOs such as the Relief India Trust, then the leaders in such organizations are regarded as the key section of the human resource. The output or the targets achieved by any NGO is dependent on the leader that how well he has utilized his resources. It is certainly true to say that employees and leaders together produce a good product or services of any organization. In order to get the things going, management of the NGO must have a good and well structured leadership within the NGO. The managers can motivate employees for target achievement and better output by using leadership skills.

Methods and Approaches of Leadership Development:

According to Relief India Trust, leadership development doesn’t mean to conduct one or more training workshops for the employees. Rather, it is a very sophisticated process with several activities involved. The benefits of such leadership programs become evident in the long run. Following are some of the key methods and approaches used for leadership development program in a Relief India Trust:

·         Coaching and Mentoring – The senior management and official with their experience can inculcate all their leadership experiences into their subordinates. This is the most effective way of utilizing talents as the NGO looks for its internal resources for the transfer of knowledge and skills. Further, the NGO can also acquire external coaching resources for developing leadership qualities in their employees. This can be a costly approach as external resources demand huge money for lectures and training sessions.

·         Self Assessment Questionnaires – It is a very easy and an interesting approach for leadership development in employees. The management here designs a questionnaire which asks the employees to rate themselves according to a given scale. The questionnaire, then can give an idea to the management about the potential employees who are capable of taking leadership roles. Further, the questionnaire also tells that which areas of a certain employee need improvement.

·         Case Specific Trainings – The management should give case specific trainings to the potential employees who are capable enough to take the leadership responsibilities. The formal projects that the NGO

has successfully finished can be a good benchmark for the training of new employees. They should be taught that how the then leaders paved out their way in the successful completion of that project. Further, the trainees should also be asked to give their feedback about their response in a certain situation of the project. This would really help in taking out the best skills from them.

·         Special Workshops and Seminar – Another excellent approach for the training of employees is to arrange special workshops and seminars which could inculcate in them the leadership skills. Workshops and seminars provide an interactive environment where trainees by their active participation can learn a lot.