Who will bear the torch tomorrow? Charismatic leadership and second-line leaders in development NGOs

Competent leadership has always been considered vital in every organisation and there has been considerable research on mainstream leadership issues in the corporate sector and in politics.1 But there has been very little research on leadership issues in the emerging sector of development NGOs. The issue of second-line leadership development2 is an important one not only for the NGOs themselves but also for the aid industry, the poor and vulnerable people for whom they work and for society as a whole. This paper investigates and analyses the question of NGO leadership in Bangladesh and UK and the problems NGOs encounter in developing second-line leaders. Through collection and analysis of data from primary and secondary sources, this document endeavours to relate existing ‘leadership research’ to the case of NGOs; assess the state of second-line leadership development in NGOs; and recommend possible strategies out for the future. The paper concludes that in spite of the exceptional qualities of many NGO leaders, there has been no systematic approach to the development of successful second-line leadership.