Leadership in Nonprofits: Social Innovations and Blurring Boundaries

With an increasing need for social innovations that rely on cross-sector partnerships, traditional ways of managing and leading human service nonprofits are undergoing rapid changes. Utilizing a qualitative, grounded theory approach, with data collected from a sample of nonprofit leaders of human service organizations in Pennsylvania, USA (n = 31), the research findings identify clear characteristics of leadership that support undertaking social innovations. Respondents characterized leadership orientation and responsibilities in relation to the demands of blending across sectors and roles within organizations. Findings from this study provide key insights into areas of leadership development that may lead to effective partnerships and stakeholder engagement to better support social innovations.