Charity CEOs: Is it too tough at the top of this sector? Why charity leadership is one of the toughest gigs around – and what CEOs can do to survive.
Charity CEOs – especially those of smaller organisations (the vast majority of our sector) – have an almost impossible job. They operate within an extremely uncertain financial landscape, they have to head up HR, finance, IT, strategy, legal, innovation and culture, and manage numerous competing stakeholders. They are the lynchpin between voluntary, often under-trained Trustees, and busy staff teams.
In this episode, we talk to one of the sector’s best-known CEOs, Debra Allcock-Tyler, who has written books on both charity leadership and governance, Vic Hancock-Fell, Owner of Fair Collective, and initiator of the Small CEO training programme and Gareth Oughton from ACEVO, who run the CEO in Crisis service.
“For small charity leaders in particular, it seems really bad at the minute … the kind of things I see in these communities are really really worrying. People’s mental health and wellbeing are being really affected by their work … It seems like a particularly hard time for small charity leaders at the minute.”
Vic Hancock Fell
“We have to get out of this trap of measuring the performance of charities by how much money they’ve got … that’s not the measure of success in a charity. The most successful charities are the ones that are resilient and in tune with their environments, the ones that can quickly flex and change.”
Debra Allcock Tyler
“Everything there just builds on each other, it creates that sense of crisis and it blurs otherwise talented leaders in seeing what they may otherwise have seen if it wasn’t for the overwhelm of absolutely everything that they’re faced with”
Gareth Oughton
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Our hosts
Felicia Willow, aka the Mary Poppins of the Charity Sector, is a seasoned interim CEO and consultant in the Charity Sector, working primarily on strategy, governance, crisis and effectiveness. Her leadership roles include the Fawcett Society and the Shannon Trust. A lawyer by training, Felicia’s career has spanned government, UN and the UK charity sector (the ‘For Impact’ sector) and she finds herself increasingly focussed on discussing and challenging the systemic issues that are holding the sector back.
Chris Pitt is responsible for positive social and environmental impact at Benefact Group, a family of specialist financial services businesses owned by a charitable Trust. The Group is the 3rd largest corporate giver to charity1 and Chris oversees over £2m of giving, namely through the Movement for Good awards which give small donations to a huge diversity of causes and large grants to charities close to the customers and communities of the Group.
1 DSC – The guide to UK Company Giving 2023-24
Our guests
Vic Hancock Fell
Vic Hancock Fell is the Founder and Director of Fair Collective, a social enterprise dedicated to supporting socially purposed organisations, particularly smaller charities. With over 15 years of experience, Vic has worked across various roles in the charity sector, including as a CEO, trustee, volunteer, consultant, and trainer. Vic is especially passionate about empowering smaller organisations and runs the Small Charity Leaders Club, a six-month peer learning programme, and the Small Charity Essentials e-learning course. Beyond Fair Collective, Vic is also involved as a grant assessor for The Fore and serves as Chair of Trustees for an environmental charity.
Debra Allcock Tyler is the Chief Executive of the Directory of Social Change (DSC)
Debra Allcock Tyler is the Chief Executive of the Directory of Social Change (DSC), a role she has held since 2001. With a career spanning over 30 years in the charitable and voluntary sector, Debra is recognised for her passionate advocacy for charities, as well as her leadership in governance and charity independence. She has also held several trustee roles, including with In Kind Direct and the Berkshire Community Foundation, and is co-chair of the Soldiering On Awards. Debra is a prolific author and speaker, known for books like It’s Tough at the Top and It’s a Battle on the Board, which provide insights into leadership and charity management.
Gareth Oughton is the Member Services Manager at ACEVO
Gareth Oughton is the Member Services Manager at ACEVO, a role he has held since June 2023. With over 15 years of senior leadership experience in the charity sector, Gareth has an extensive background in membership services, higher education, and charity management. He served as the Chief Executive of the University of Leicester Students’ Union for over five years, and before that, held several senior roles at the University of Exeter Students’ Guild. In his current role, Gareth oversees the services provided to ACEVO members, ensuring they meet the organisation’s evolving needs.
Resources:
Buy It’s Tough at the Top from the DSC here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-allcock-tyler-8013214/ and It’s a Battle on the Board here – https://www.dsc.org.uk/publication/its-a-battle-on-the-board/
Learn more about joining ACEVO here: https://www.acevo.org.uk/
Check out one of their ‘oldie-but-goodie’ publications Leading the CEO and Chair to Effective Governance, which helps outline the relationship between Chair and CEO, here: https://acevo.my.site.com/s/store#/store/browse/detail/a303z000002zBFHAA2
Learn more about Fair Collective here – https://www.faircollective.co.uk/.
Learn more about the Power of Small research project on NCVO’s website here – https://www.ncvo.org.uk/about-us/our-services/support-small-charities-voluntary-organisations/
Small Charity Leaders Club – https://www.vichancockfell.co.uk/small-charity-leaders-club