Leadership, professionalisation and impact: lessons from a national survey of non-profit leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This article reports on a unique, first-of-its-kind national survey, which is investigating people’s motivations for participating in the non-profit sector, challenges to professionalisation and perceptions of impact. Using the participants in an annual non-profit conference in Dhahran in the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia (KSA) as a sample, this survey seeks to understand the key fundamentals of how they learn about leadership, how their practice is impacted and what they see as their impact. The aim of the article is to understand the most important factors that determine and shape leadership development among Saudi non-profit professionals. The study of leadership in this context is seen in the broader context of the ‘professionalisation’ of the Saudi non-profit sector. The lessons from this survey can impact how future professional development programmes are designed, delivered and followed up. The survey can also be a good baseline for future studies of the non-profit sector in KSA.