Yet again, the voluntary sector proves it's the place to be. Dame Helen Ghosh is preparing to move from one of the most senior jobs in the Civil Service to become chief executive of the National Trust. In doing so she will follow in the footsteps of others who have transferred from the public sector, and indeed the private and corporate sector, to the charity world. She'll bring political, policy and leadership skills, as well as a focus on delivery, that would be recognised as invaluable anywhere.
It's a shame though that the skills honed by leaders in the voluntary sector are not seen as quite so valuable in the public, and particularly the corporate world; this enriching exchange of skills rarely goes the other way.
In a recent programme for senior women leaders from the voluntary sector held at Cass Business School and sponsored by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and Newton Investment Management, we addressed why charity sector leaders are not seen as part of the pipeline for the boards of the FTSE 100.
Newton's chief executive, Helena Morrissey, who led the campaign by the 30% Club to get more women on corporate boards, and has supported Cass' initiative with enthusiasm. She has seen how the skills of the voluntary sector – including stakeholder management, holding on to an organisation's vision and fundamental purpose in testing times, accounting to many different partners, funders, communities and service users, and in creating a sustainable future through complex strategic planning – could be applied as much to the corporate world as to the voluntary sector.
Lord Davies, who sadly forgot the sector in his report 'Women on Boards' (an omission he's now addressed with similar enthusiasm), is also a convert to the skills of the sector. As a result of the programme, so too are many headhunters. So now we want to see whether senior women from the charity sector will really join the pipeline of emerging leaders in the corporate sector.
From the programme at Cass and other research by Professor Susan Vinnicombe at Cranfield University, we know that women who want to get senior positions need to find mentors and champions, and most of all get the experience that will enable them to be credible and confident at board level in any sector.
For those wanting to change sector, particularly from the voluntary to the corporate sector, they need to prepare and think through their careers at an early stage. They need to make choices that will keep options open and not be so committed to practice (important as professional skills are) that they fail to grasp challenges that will broaden their experience and make them stand out early in their career.
They also need knowledge of some things that can be learned theoretically or through secondment opportunities, such as the role of independent non-executives, the importance of market sentiment, the importance of shareholder value and the specifics of corporate governance in the private sector. They also have to be able to articulate their existing experience in a way that makes sense to the chairmen (as they nearly all are) of corporate boards and that uses their vocabulary and frame of reference.
The research on the Cass programme is not yet finished. I shall be following the initial participants to see how they have considered their own careers and what new opportunities have come to them as a result of the programme. I'll also be learning whether, knowing more about the reality of being on a FTSE board, they think that it really is the place to be.
Whatever else we learn, one thing we know already: throughout your career, whether you are a woman or a man, and from whatever sector, think through whether the choices you are making open more doors than they close. It'll help prepare you to make the important career decisions that will create personal flexibility and encourage the exchange of skills so important to our economy and society.
No one sector has the answers to all the challenges we face, and we'll all be better off if more people can bring their skills, passion and expertise to all parts of business, public and charitable life.
Lynne Berry OBE is a senior visiting fellow at Cass Business School; deputy chair of the Canal and River Trust and was recently named one of the '100 women to watch' for FTSE 100 boards by Cranfield University
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