| Many voluntary organizations fail to thrive due to the changing trends in the market. A possible cause of this failure to thrive is the lack of proper and sufficient management skills that are required to run a voluntary organization which is the problem that drove this research. A gap in literature exists concerning the business management skills needed to lead a voluntary organization. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of leaders in identifying, choosing, and carrying out the proper business management skills needed to lead a voluntary organization. The Results-based Leadership model which measures the leader's ability to move the focus from leadership inputs to leadership outcomes was the overall theoretical framework used for this research. A purposive sample of fifteen leaders of voluntary organizations whose organizations are registered with the Internal Revenue Service was utilized. A phenomenological research design was used with in-depth interviews to explore the ability of leaders of voluntary organizations to identify, choose, and carry out business management skills. The data were analyzed for emerging themes by using NVivo 11 and manual thematic analysis by the researcher in which nine themes emerged. Overall, training through higher education was viewed as having added value in assisting leaders in identifying, choosing, and carrying out business management skills. Trial and error alone was found as insufficient in preparing leaders to identify, choose, and carry out business management skills. Future research recommendations include the exploration of specific voluntary organizations such as public foundations and charities to see if there are correlations between specific type of voluntary organizations and the general Non-profit Sector. Recommendations for practice involve institutes of higher learning incorporating an integrative or comprehensive experience through mentor- or intern-like programs. |
