I think the most underrated skill for nonprofit CEOs is buy-in.

I’ve yet to see a job description that lists it, but the ability to gain buy-in is critical to every aspect of nonprofit leadership.

And yet it's not taught and it's not always intuitive, especially given the unique set of challenges nonprofit CEOs face, including: 

1) managing a wide array of stakeholders, each with their own needs, expectations, and power dynamics, while also
2) selling not a tangible product, but the idea of a better world.
 

As a nonprofit leader, you must inspire people to part with their hard-earned dollars for a cause and run a sophisticated organization impacting real lives, all while confronting outdated societal beliefs about the sector.
 

I spent 18 years inside a nonprofit, working alongside and advising visionary CEOs focused on creating transformative change.
 

Here’s what I learned: vision alone is not enough. Success depends on the hard work of gaining buy-in through building relationships, earning trust, delivering the right messages at the right time, and fostering true alignment around a shared vision.